


Sunlight of a Happy Distant Sunday

by Cherikella



Series: Sundays with Charles [2]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bullying, Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Doubt, Erik Logic Is The Best Logic, Erik is Crushing Harder than a 12-year Old Girl, Erik is a Father, Established Relationship, Family, Happy Ending, Honestly Charles What Are You Thinking, Jealousy, Love, M/M, Misunderstanding, Sadness, School, charles and erik are married, dadneto, pietro and wanda are adorable
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2018-09-17 07:46:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9312164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherikella/pseuds/Cherikella
Summary: It’s been a year since the events of Sundays with Charles. Charles and Erik are a happily married couple, living together and raising Erik’s two children together. However, with Charles’ busy schedule he’s working almost all the time and the two find it hard to actually spend quality time together. On top of that Pietro experiences certain troubles at school that he is not willing to share with his family, while Erik begins to suspect Charles too is keeping secrets of his own.Sunday is long gone and weekdays take over. In the midst of problems and challenges it is difficult to keep the ray of sunlight from a happy distant Sunday.





	1. Chapter 1

Erik’s alarm went off. He quickly reached for it to turn it off before it got too loud, then looked over his shoulder. Charles stirred in bed next to him with a prolonged groan and shifted the other way. Erik let out a small breath of relief. Charles was _not_ a morning person. He was completely incoherent and very slow in the early mornings. So slow and confused, in fact, that it was absolutely adorable. Erik smiled a little, glancing at his partner once again. Yep, adorable.

He pushed the covers off himself and got up, stretching his arms and back as he walked towards the bathroom.

Charles was living with him now. They were married and Charles was living with Erik, Pietro and Wanda. They were a family, a real family. Two years ago Erik could never even imagine he would ever have that again. But here they were now!

Of course, it didn’t start as smoothly as Erik had initially planned but at least things worked out well in the end. When they first had their serious discussion on the matter of moving in together, it was rather… heated.

“Obviously you’ll just move in with me.” Charles had announced that day.

“Why? You could just move in with us.” Erik had replied a little grumpily.

And here began their biggest argument so far.

“It’s ridiculous to have three people move when we could just move you.” Erik said.

“True” Charles agreed with that soft persistence of his that Erik was quite familiar with by now, “but my place is bigger than yours. There’ll be more space for the children.”

Charles was right, of course. Erik’s flat was ridiculously small, compared to Charles’. Four people definitely needed more space than Erik’s current flat could provide. But it was _his_ flat - he was paying rent for it and it gave him independence. He liked that. It wasn’t that Erik had any particular emotional attachment or even fondness for the place - it was small, old and things always ended up broken for some inexplicable reason - but it was something he could afford and that meant a great deal to him. He couldn’t just take his kids and move in with Charles in Charles’ flat where everything belonged to Charles and nothing was Erik’s. It felt too much like charity and that’s the last thing Erik wanted to be to Charles.

“I don't want to move out of this flat. It’s my territory.” Erik had the stupidity to reply and that’s when things got really bad.

“Excuse me?” Charles exclaimed. “ _Your territory?”_ He arched both his eyebrows in astonishment. “What’s that even supposed to mean? Are we talking about moving in together or developing battle plans?”

“That’s not how I meant it.” Erik mumbled grumpily, trying to explain himself without insulting Charles or appearing like an asshole.

“We’re supposed to be together in this, Erik! Fiances, spouses!” Charles insisted. “But if you’d rather think of me as the enemy, well then…”

Erik let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re not the enemy, I just don’t want to feel dependent on you!”

“Dependent? Because you’re moving in my flat?” Charles’ voice sounded hurt. “Erik, we’re a couple! We share things.”

 _Yeah, share_ **_Charles’_ ** _things,_ screamed Erik’s inner voice.

“And what if you get tired of us and throw us out?” he blurted out before he could even consider what he had just implied.

Charles stared at him with huge blue eyes. “You really think I’d do that!?” he exclaimed.  

“I’m not saying you will but if it happens… it’s going to be more complicated for me and the kids than for you.”

“You actually think I’ll throw you out.”

It was not phrased as a question but Erik heard himself reply nevertheless.

“How can I be sure you won’t?”

Charles started walking around the room, arms crossed in front of his chest. “So you’re basically making plans for when our relationship ends. We're not even married yet and you're scheduling our divorce!”

Erik blinked. “No, that’s not what I mean. But I have to be prepared in case…”

“Oh, my God!” Charles interrupted. “We’re about to take the next step and you’re thinking of exit strategies!? How can this relationship even work out if you don’t really believe in it!? Do you even _want_ us to be together at all!?”

That led to a very long and heated discussion that didn’t really come to any conducive or helpful outcomes. They only stopped when they heard the kids coming home from school. Then Charles went to the bathroom for a few minutes and when he came out of it he was pleasant and nice and smiling to Pietro and Wanda like always. Erik grumpily left the flat and hid in his hardware shop for the rest of the day.

That same evening, after the kids went to bed and while Erik was doing the dishes, Charles wrapped his arms around his fiance's waist, hugging him from behind and resting his head on Erik’s shoulder-blades, letting out a content hum.

“I’m sorry.” Erik said, meaning it. He still didn’t want to feel dependent on Charles and his money but he also didn’t like arguing with Charles.

“I’m sorry too.” Charles replied, pressing a kiss to the nape of Erik’s neck. “I should’ve understood what it meant to you. I’ve felt that way with my family all my life so I shouldn’t have snapped like that.”

“I phrased it poorly.”

“You did.” Charles chuckled. “It made me think you didn’t really think our marriage would last and that just made me so-- But it was still stupid of me. I just want us to start our new life together and truly be a team, y’know. Not to fight or be divided. I want this to work out. I really want us to be one.”

Erik smiled, feeling warmth overtaking his entire body. “I want that too.” he said, turning around and placing his own hands on each side of Charles’ hips. Charles beamed at him.

“So we can figure this out, right?” Charles asked hopeful.

“We can.” Erik agreed, gazing lovingly at his fiance. “Of course we can.”

Charles leaned up and gave him a lingering close-mouthed kiss. It was soft and gentle and sweet - they had decided not to have any more heated kisses unless they were in Erik’s bedroom because of the kids. Both Charles and Erik got carried away too much once they were at each other so they didn’t want to get too distracted to notice if Pietro or Wanda walk in on them.

When they broke the kiss Charles’ eyes remained closed for a moment, a soft content smile playing on his lips.

“I’m still not moving in to your flat though.” Erik said half-serious half-joking.

“You won’t.” Charles chuckled. “I won’t insist on that anymore. But we do need a bigger place. It’s gonna be you and me and Pietro and Wanda and we all need our space and… and _privacy_ …”

Charles’ cheeks turned a deep shade of red, all flushed as he said the word _privacy_ and only then did Erik realize what was bothering Charles so much about the small flat.

“Oh! _Privacy!”_ he then said, finding it hard to not grin. He pulled Charles closer, so he’d be flash against his own body and making the younger man blush even more. “I see now.”

“You’ve been alone with the kids for far too long, old man. You don’t realize that your young lover needs you, too. _Needs you desperately_.” Charles bit his lower lip, blue eyes looking up at Erik teasingly.

“I guess I failed to see it that way.” Erik replied. “But I completely agree with your point of view there.”

“Good.” Charles seemed relieved. Erik realized he was probably really worried about that. While other couples had their time to explore their own relationship and enjoy it to the fullest, Charles was embarking on a relationship not only with Erik but also with two young children. It was not the usual honeymoon for them. Erik knew very well how important Pietro and Wanda were to Charles but he also knew it wasn’t going to be easy, even if Charles and the kids did get along wonderfully and even if Charles did love Erik’s children so much. Family outings, dinners and activities were lovely and they all enjoyed them. But as a couple Charles and Erik did need to spend some quality time alone with each other as well. There were certain activities the children could not take part in. Erik could totally understand that need.

“Umm, will you stay the night?” he asked, feeling a flush of want. Charles always fitted so well in his embrace. As if they were made as two pieces of the same puzzle, meant to be together, united. “I mean, do you want to stay the night?”

Charles’ breathing was becoming a little shallow already. Apparently Erik wasn’t the only one getting aroused. “I-- I do, actually.” Charles replied, sounding almost breathless.

Erik leaned in to press another kiss to his Charles’ cherry lips. They ran to the bedroom, abandoning the dishes in the kitchen for some other time.

The next morning they came up with the best idea ever - to get a new place, a place that wasn’t Charles’ or Erik’s, but something that was going to belong to all of them. A new beginning for their new life as a family.

It was in that new place where Erik woke up in this morning, with his husband Charles sleeping peacefully next to him and his children in the rooms down the corridor. They’ve been living here nine months now but it already felt like home to Erik.

He finished with his morning routine and returned to the bedroom where he saw Charles smiling sleepily at him from the bed.

“Mornin’.” he said, voice still hoarse from sleep.

“Morning.” Erik smiled back at him and leaned in to plant a kiss on his forehead.

Charles pulled him in for a few more kisses and then finally let him go. “You’ll be late.” he reminded him, stretching like a cat under the covers.

“I can live with that.” Erik grinned. He ran his fingers through Charles’ morning hair, enjoying the softness, and pulling his Charles in for another kiss.

Charles giggled a little, pressing his hand on Erik’s chest to gently push him away. “You’ll really be late, my love.” he reminded him again.

Erik pouted. “You should not be permitted to wake up this early. It’s hard enough to leave when you’re asleep in our bed, but it’s even worse when you’re actually _awake in our bed.”_

Charles grinned, pleased with how tormented Erik looked.

“You’re enjoying this too much, it’s indecent.” Erik joked. “I’m really having a hard time here.”

“Oh, I can feel that.” Charles teased with a clever little smirk as he cast his gaze down between them, glancing at Erik's crotch for a second before grinning back at him.

“As if you’re in a better state!” Erik groaned, pressing their bodies together, the friction sending delicious waves of pleasure through them both.

Charles let out a quiet moan despite himself. He bit his lips hard enough to bleed. He was still self-conscious of Wanda and Pietro’s rooms down the hall. Trying to be quiet was probably not easy for Charles, Erik thought in passing, because Charles was a passionate lover who made a lot of noise. Erik knew that by now -- he had the pleasure to learn that information first hand.

“I love you!” Erik whispered into Charles’ ear softly. The result was exactly what he had expected. Charles wrapped his arms tightly around Erik, pressing passionate kisses down his neck as if starving for him as he whispered _I love you’s_ and _You’re perfect._ Erik never considered himself perfect but he was more than happy to be perfect in Charles’ eyes.

He ended up being late for work but he blamed it on the traffic. Good old traffic!

—«·»—

While Charles was creating his new empire almost from scratch, Erik was still working in his hardware shop with Angel as his sole employee. The shop was his life more or less. It wasn’t much, definitely nothing compared to Charles’ projects, but it was Erik’s place and he loved it.

“Mornin’, boss!” Angel greeted him. Technically she was now working part-time at Erik’s hardware shop and part-time as Pietro and Wanda's babysitter. It would seem she really liked working for Erik because it was under her insistence that Erik hired her. She was quite persistent, too. Erik didn’t mind one bit.

“Morning, Angel.” he greeted back, shedding his coat off. “I was late because of--”

“Traffic, I know.” she said, a certain sparkle in her eyes betraying that she had a different theory of her own as to why was Erik late again. “It happens a lot lately. You could just get up earlier, y’know.”

“Is mocking me really part of your job?” Erik rolled his eyes.

“You tell me. You knew what I was like when you hired me.” she grinned.

“I don’t think my tardiness is bad enough to require me to wake up early.” he replied, changing the topic.

“Of course.” Angel nodded and then added quieter as if to herself but made sure for Erik to hear too. “Besides Charles is not a morning person, at all.”

“That’s enough.”

She chuckled again and the day went on as usual until it was time for Angel to go get Pietro and Wanda for her second job for the Lehnsherr’s.

—«·»—

“That was lovely, Alexandra, thank you. You may sit down." Miss Ororo Munroe said with a smile. "Now… Piero? Why don’t you read us your essay, dear?” 

Pietro quickly got up, collecting his text and clearing his throat before starting to read. “Why My Family is Unique” he began. “My family is unlike any other and that makes it unique. What sets us apart is how we love and care for one another. Until recently it was only me, my sister and our dad. But now my dad found Charles. Charles is amazing. He helps me and my sister with homework and he makes studying fun. He plays games with us and he even figured out how to make our dad to stay longer at home and spend more time with us. Before we couldn’t find family time but now we do and that happened after Charles joined our family. I am so lucky we have Charles in our lives.” he looked up from his text because he heard noises, other kids whispering. For a moment he wasn’t sure what was going on exactly but soon he realized that they were whispering _about him!_

Why would they even be whispering about him? Did he do something wrong? Was it something he said? Instinctively his hand reached down to check if his zipper was zipped properly - maybe it was something about his appearance that caused the smirks and the hushed conversations. He frowned. His zipper was just fine and he didn’t look any different than before. Whatever this whispering was about, it lacked a proper reason, Pietro thought.

He cleared his throat again. His voice getting more unsure as he continued with his essay. It wasn’t nice reading to such an unreceptive audience.

Miss Munroe kept listening with the same encouraging and friendly smile on her face, hushing the others every now and then, but Pietro could already feel the tension, the mockery. He knew they were laughing at him, it was written all over their faces. And he _didn’t know why!_

He stuttered once. Twice. Darn it! All eyes were on him and he could at least tell why they were whispering now - he was acting like an idiot. Maybe his essay wasn’t good. But since when did his schoolmates care about good essays?

He muttered the last words so quietly that Miss Munroe had to stretch her neck to be able to hear him. Finally it was over!

“Thank you, Pietro. That was wonderful. I’d love to read it for myself later.” Miss Munroe said and he quickly sat back down at his desk, avoiding any sort of eye contact, staring dumbly at the textbook in front of him.

He couldn’t concentrate. The feeling that everyone were still staring at him, whispering and laughing at him, didn’t go away until the end of the lesson.

And he still didn’t understand why.

—«·»—

“Mmm, dinner smells fantastic, darling.” Charles purred, giving Erik a kiss on the cheek.

“That’s because it is going to be exceptional.” Erik winked.

“You make me look bad when I cook.” Charles teased, helping Erik by setting the plates on the table.

“I can’t help being the better cook.” Erik replied with a smirk. He was proud of his culinary skills and he knew pretty well how high was Charles' regard for Erik's food, so he couldn’t help being smug about it.

“You’re hurting my feelings.” Charles feigned sadness and chuckled right after that.

“I’ll have to make up for it then.” Erik beamed, kissing Charles, holding the frying pan with parts of their dinner in it away from his husband. He didn't want to burn Charles, after all!

Charles closed his eyes and kissed back, a slow lingering kiss that left them both sighing longingly. The last time they saw each other was early in the morning so naturally they missed one another terribly by the evening. Sure, they texted each other during the day but it was different face to face.

“Mmm, you can call the kids to dinner.” Erik said as they pulled away from one another.

Charles nodded and Erik returned to finishing the last preparations for the meal. “They need to wash their hands. They keep forgetting.” he reminded. 

“Pretending to forget, more like.” Charles chuckled amused and rushed to Pietro and Wanda’s rooms.

They called them Pietro and Wanda’s rooms but it was more like one huge room that was divided by a wall with an inside window that could either be shut or open and a door. The previous owners apparently wanted to have a study and a room for hobbies so they did that to their one big room. Now these were perfect for Pietro and Wanda because they were almost sharing a room but without getting in each other’s way. Charles thought it was very clever - he had always wanted to feel his own sister’s presence close by when he was growing up.

He knocked on both their doors. “Kids! Dinner time!”

“A minute!” Wanda called back and was soon up and grinning at Charles.

“Hands.” Charles reminded.

The girl rolled her eyes. “I washed them like a hundred times already. Must I do that again?”

“You most certainly must.” Charles replied, walking with her to the bathroom. “It’s good to eat with clean hands. You don’t want just anything in your mouth.”

“Yeah, that’s true…” she sighed. “I touched a stick at school today.”

“Why were you touching sticks?” Charles chuckled.

“It was a sword at the time.” Wanda explained and Charles could only nod in understanding. That made perfect sense.

“Alright, just so you don’t feel lonely, I’ll wash my hands too, ok?”

She grinned. “Yes! That’s much better!” the little girl jumped pleased and the two started washing their hands.

“Where’s Pietro?” Charles asked at one point, looking expectantly at the door. “He’s taking long.”

Wanda shrugged.

“Was everything alright today? Was he acting strange?”

She shrugged again.

Charles frowned while drying his hands. “It’s not like him to not be the first at the dinner table.” he mused.

“I haven’t spoken to him since school.” Wanda replied. “He stayed in his room when we came home. Angel was surprised too.”

Charles took in a deep breath. “Well, you go see if daddy needs help with dinner and I’ll go check on our Pie.” Charles smiled, stroking her hair.

The girl smiled and nodded and skipped in the direction of the kitchen.

“Pietro?” Charles knocked on the door, waiting for the boy to say it’s okay to enter. As a kid Charles himself rarely had privacy, unless he was hiding in the library, so he deemed it important to give the kids space to breathe. On the other hand he also didn’t want them to feel neglected. It was a delicate line between one extreme and another and Charles was very careful when treading it. “Pietro, are you coming? We’ll eat it all without you. It smells so delicious.”

“I’m coming.” Was Pietro’s reply from behind the closed door.

“Do not worry, it’s your dad’s cooking, not mine. So it’s going to be a treat.” Charles joked but even that didn’t have the usual effect.

“Alright. I’m coming.” Pietro said and opened the door, looking gloomy.

“Alright… not even a chuckle…” Charles noted.

“I’ll go wash my hands.” Pietro said and rushed alone to the bathroom.

Charles remained thoughtful by the door for a moment before he heard Erik and Wanda’s impatient call from the kitchen. He waved off Pietro’s mood as the boy being tired from school or busy with homeworks and went to the kitchen to enjoy their family dinner. 

—«·»—

Erik’s hardware shop has never been better. Things were going tip-top and Erik was more than pleased with the progress. He wasn’t as bad financially as he once was. True, he was sharing bills and other spendings with Charles but they were both pitching equally into it so he didn’t feel like a leech. Erik liked not feeling like a leech.

There was, however, one tiny problem. Time. And to be more precise, not  _his_ time but  _Charles’_ time. Charles was naturally preoccupied with his work -- recreating his father’s company almost from scratch wasn’t something to happen overnight -- but until recently Charles had always managed to juggle both his work and his private life. It somehow felt different over the last weeks. Erik was worried that maybe something was bothering Charles at work. Erik imagined building the new laboratories was tricky, or the research itself could hit a dead end when one least expected. Any number of things could be bothering Charles right now. Whatever it was Erik thought that maybe Charles needed to rewind, to relax a bit and see things from a different perspective. Either ways he had to know that Erik’s got his back all the way.

“Earth calling for Charles.” Erik said, trying to attract his husband's attention.

Charles almost jumped. “Um, sorry. I got distracted. You were saying?”

For the last five minutes Erik had been explaining how he found that lovely country house for rent where they could go for a week or two with the kids and have a blast. But maybe now wasn’t the right time to bring it up.

“Nothing important." he said instead. "Just commenting on the weather.” 

Another silence fell. Erik was the first to break it.

“Is everything alright with you? You seem to get distracted a lot these days. Is something wrong at work?”

Charles only sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “Not wrong per se, just-- hectic.”

“Oh. I see.” Erik nodded, reaching out for Charles’ hand to give it a reassuring squeeze. “If you need to talk about--”

“Thanks, Erik. It’s fine.” Charles cut him off with a smile.

“Well, you know I’m here for you…”

“I know you are. You’re always there for me. Thank you."

For a moment something felt off. Charles was smiling but his eyes seemed sad. Perhaps work really was too hectic. Erik pulled Charles closer into a warm embrace and pressed a gentle kiss to his temple. 

“Things always seem worse right before everything gets better again.” he said, trying to be comforting even though he wasn't exactly sure of the particular problem Charles was facing. He didn’t want to pry, he'd much rather Charles told him himself. But Charles was silent about it and Erik respected that.

It was difficult to find the right words when you had no idea what the actual problem was but still he was going to help Charles as much as he could. 

Charles hummed with content and leaned into Erik, seeking his warmth. It was the sweetest thing ever, to be trusted like that, to have Charles curled up like that in his embrace.  

“I love you so much.” Erik whispered.

“I love you too.” Charles breathed in reply.

When Erik looked at Charles again the younger man was smiling brightly. Whatever that was about, it was over now.

—«·»—

It wasn’t over. It was never over. It never ended, every day of the week. School was becoming a nightmare for Pietro. Every boy and even some of the girls were pointing at him, making faces at him and laughing.

Apparently he was the ‘fag’s son’ now. He had two fathers and that was hilarious and for some reason worthy of endless mockery. And because his father had a husband instead of a wife, that instantly made Pietro gay too. An unbeatable logic which Pietro couldn’t shake off no matter what he tried to say. They called him names and pushed him around but what hurt most was the things they talked about dad and Charles. Neither dad, nor Charles deserved to be called these things. They were both great and Pietro loved them so much and yet… his schoolmates never stopped.

He was eating lunch in the school bathroom now. To escape the hurtful comments in the cafeteria. Not that this made it any better. It was a temporary solution. Eventually he had to rejoin the class, he had to return to the vultures. He was a constant source of amusement and mockery, the but of their jokes. They laughed at him behind his back, as well as in his face. It enraged him. He felt angry, so angry and he didn't know what to do with it. He never knew a rage like that before. Not even when he was angry at dad for breaking a promise and being late from work again. Not even when his mother died and he couldn’t really remember her face properly, no matter how hard he tried. He’s been angry before but he’s never been  _this_ angry and that was scaring him at times. It was scaring him so much. 

There was no one to talk to about these things. No one to understand. Those stupid kids! They didn’t know anything about him or his family but they were still saying those horrible things!

Pietro tried to do what Mrs. Munroe always told them to do -- explain to his classmates that their words were hurting him and he’d rather they stop. It only got them to laugh at him more. He considered going to Mrs. Munroe but he didn’t want to be a baby about it, he didn't want to go crying to the teacher. So he tried to ignore the ill remarks. No result. He yelled back at the boys that mocked him but seeing him this affected by their actions only encouraged them to continue. It was a vicious circle of undeserved crude mockery. And Pietro still couldn’t understand why were they doing it? Some of those boys used to be his friends…

Wanda didn’t get teased about it. She was a girl so the boys couldn’t call her a fag. A fag liked boys but it was okay for a girl to like boys. It was only sick and twisted when a boy liked other boys. Pietro still couldn’t see the logic. Maybe Wanda’s grilfriends were saying something to her? He asked his sister about it but she shook her head.

“They say it’s rad.” She replied, looking at Pietro carefully. “They think it’s cool that dad has a husband. And whenever they got mad at their moms they say they wished they had two dads to spoil them.”

Pietro blinked even more confused. “That’s such bullshit!” He gasped. “Can’t they see how stupid they all are!?”

Wanda sighed. “They can’t but maybe one day they will.”

“Yeah, I don’t care about one day!” Pietro huffed.

“How are you?” Wanda asked carefully. “I heard about what happened in the corridor the other day…”

“I’m fine.” Pietro insisted.

But Wanda knew better than just believe him. She knew him better than anyone -- better even than dad and Charles.

“You can tell someone, y’know.” she said. “In fact… I think you  _should_ tell someone.”

“I’m not whining to Mrs. Munroe. They’ll only think I’m a fag for sure.”

Wanda frowned. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“Neither do any of the other things but they’re still happening.” he said.

Wanda had to agree.

“Whatever I try, it only makes it worse.” Pietro confessed, looking down at his hands.

“Maybe we should tell Dad and Charles.”

“No!” Pietro almost jumped. “You can’t tell them! Promise me!”

“But they’d know what to do. They’re grownups so people would listen to them.” Wanda insisted.

“These boys, Wanda, they don’t talk shit just about me. They say it about dad and Charles too. How do you think they’ll feel if they knew what people were saying about them? How do you think they’d feel knowing that you and I have been listening to that kinda stuff?”

Wanda sighed with a heavy heart. 

“Dad and Charles are so happy now.” Pietro continued. “No, we can't ruin that because of my stupid classmates." he shook his head decisively. "I can’t let them go through that. We can’t tell them.”

“I still think that--”

“We  _won’t_  tell them, Wanda! You must promise!” he demanded.

“Don’t take it out on me now.” she frowned.

“If you tell them, I’ll never forgive you!”

Silence.

A sigh.

“I won’t tell them, Pietro.”

—«·»—

Erik frowned. “Where are you going?”

“Work.” Charles said, fumbling for his keys.

“I thought it was your day off.”

“It is.” Charles said quickly, then glanced at Erik with a chuckle. “You know me, though. I need things to be perfect. There’s still so much to do and I want it to go well. It’s not like a usual job, y’know. It’s a project.”

“Oh.” Erik nodded, trying to hide his disappointment. He’d been waiting for this one day for so long. A day when both he and Charles would be free and the kids not at home. He missed Charles so much! But of course, he understood Charles needed to take care of his company. He did already pour so much of himself in it. It was like a child to him. “Will you be back for dinner?”

“Ummm” Charles looked around some more, gathering a bunch of papers from the desk. “Yes. Yes, I think I will.” he turned towards Erik, giving him a warm smile. “I love you.” he then said and all Erik’s worries flied out the window.

“I love you too!” he said, rising up to give Charles a proper kiss. “Go kick ass.”

Charles chuckled and bit his lower lip. “I’ll be counting the minutes till I’m back to you.” he said and the words sent shivers of heated anticipation down Erik’s spine.

“Better go now or I’ll never let you go.” he groaned into Charles’ mouth and then opened his arms for Charles to leave.

Charles pressed another kiss to Erik’s lips and left. Erik flopped down on the couch again. He could’ve been snuggling with Charles or in bed with Charles. Instead he was stuck with crappy TV and leftovers. He sighed. He wished he could be properly angry at life for not having his usual Sunday with Charles. But he couldn’t. Because all he could think was how proud he was with Charles, how devoted. lever and intelligent Charles was. And that warmed his heart too much to let bitterness rage inside him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot believe I took this long to update this story! I am soooo sorry for keeping you waiting. I'll try to post the next chapters more regularly. Hopefully, it works. And hopefully you enjoy the story!  
> I added a few things to Chapter 1 and now I present to you with Chapter 2!  
> 

Erik returned home to an empty flat. The kids were at Angel’s for the night -- she was their friend and missed them just as much as they missed her so having little sleepovers was a regular thing for them. It also gave Charles and Erik the opportunity to have a some alone time, with just the two of them. Erik was looking forward to those evenings, actually. He was literally counting the minutes. With both him and Charles working and with the kids being constantly around it wasn’t always easy to find the time to enjoy each other’s company in private. Let alone having the flat all to themselves and not having to worry about being quiet and discreet. 

Oh, yes, Erik was definitely waiting for those evenings with hopeful anticipation. And usually Charles greeted him with the same matching enthusiasm the second Erik walked through the door. Tonight, however, the flat was empty. 

“Charles?” he called again but there was no reply.  

Maybe Charles was on his way, stuck in traffic or something. Or perhaps he was being held up at work. It had happened before, he was quite a busy man lately. It was understandable that Charles had less time for personal matters, considering the professional goals he had set for himself. Establishing his own company took a lot of time, it required a lot of energy, and Charles was pouring all of himself into it.  

Since he was the first to come home tonight, Erik decided to start preparing the food while waiting for Charles to get back. Erik enjoyed cooking, it always soothed him, relaxed him and reminded him of his mother and the way they used to cook together when he was a child and she was still alive. As usual, he put a lot of effort into the food, aiming for perfection. When it was all prepared, he busied himself with setting the table with his customary attention to detail. He wanted everything to be beautiful for their dinner. He could imagine Charles’ pleased face filling with joy, when he saw how much effort Erik had put into making their evening so romantic. Charles may never admit it out loud, but he loved getting Erik’s full attention. And Erik loved giving it to him.  

The food was ready, the table was arranged but there was still no sign of Charles. So Erik decided to go freshen up before dinner. That took him another 10 minutes but still no sign of Charles. Erik was getting a bit nervous now. Just when he glanced the clock once again, wondering if Charles was alright and if he should call, his phone buzzed with a text. 

_ Don’t wait up for me tonight. I’ll be late. Sorry. Love you. CX _

Erik frowned, trying to swallow his disappointment. His initial thought was  _ not again _ . 

_ But dinner’s ready. EL   _

He felt a little foolish typing the words but he couldn’t stop himself. At least he managed to restrain himself before adding  _ I was waiting for you. I put so much effort into preparing everything.  _

The beep from Charles’ reply came quickly.   

_ Bugger! I’m so sorry! I completely forgot! CX _

Erik’s heart sunk. A moment later a second text arrived. 

_ I have a work-related meeting I don’t think I can come out of until late after midnight. I’m so very sorry, darling! I love you! CX _

Erik stared at the text for a while before realizing that he still had to reply to Charles. He sighed and typed. 

_ Ok, got it. Good luck on the meeting. I love you too. EL _

_ I’ll make it up to you, I promise! CX _

Well, at least that was something to look forward to. Charles was always so good at  _ making up _ to Erik. 

_ Can’t wait ;) EL _

The phone quieted down after that. Charles gave no reply. And quite right not to since Erik was feeling frisky while Charles was in a meeting so it was definitely the wrong time to deal with Erik’s libido. 

He put the phone away with a heavy heart.  

At the table the dinner was still waiting for them. Erik stared blankly at it, not really seeing the point in eating now. Charles worked a lot lately. Odd hours, late nights. Often he was working even longer than he used to in those first months after he started the new company. Erik did his best to show support for his husband. But it was no use lying to himself -- he missed Charles. He felt lonely and frustrated more often than he’d like to admit and it was getting really hard keeping it under control and not sulk or complain about it. It was stupid, so very stupid. It wasn’t Charles’ fault! Charles couldn’t help it. It was his work, after all. And yet….  

He was disappointed. Of course he was. Charles had missed almost all romantic dinners Erik had prepared for them for the last two months. It was upsetting and Erik hated it. He wanted to be angry but he couldn’t. He felt guilty and greedy, starving for attention while Charles was working so hard. It wasn’t like Charles  _ wanted  _ them to be apart. This was just as difficult on Charles as it was on Erik. Erik knew how important this was to Charles and he didn’t want to be selfish or ruin it for him. Charles had his work, his professional goals and Erik respected that. Hell, he loved him for it! Being angry would be unfair to Charles too. The younger man was pouring all his energy into his work and then still managed to find time to spend with Erik’s children. He was remarkable! 

So Erik got to wait a bit longer to be with Charles properly, so he had to get used to Charles returning late and being too tired to pay attention to Erik. So what? Erik had to suppress this strange new clingy side of him that he hadn’t even known existed until now. Charles was doing so much for him already! Charles loved him and they were a family. A  _ real  _ family. And that was truly exceptional!  

Erik ate alone that evening. Then cleaned up the dishes, prepared leftovers for Charles for when he got back from work, whenever that was, and took a shower. Slightly refreshed by the hot water he sat in front of the TV and waited for his young husband to come home. Past 1am there was still no sign of Charles. The meeting was probably taking longer than Charles had anticipated. Poor thing. 

That was the last thought Erik had before drifting to sleep on the couch with the remote in his hands. At some point he thought he heard someone’s footsteps approach and then a warm kiss to his forehead. A blanket wrapping around him carefully as if not to wake him up and then silence. Was it a dream? No, it was Charles. But these days Charles felt like a dream to him. 

—«·»—  

The little bell indicating someone was entering Erik’s hardware shop rang and Angel burst inside with a huge grin on her face. 

“I got Tony a gift for his birthday!” She announced, holding up a large bag. “I think he’s gonna love it!” 

“Good. I didn’t even know he had a birthday coming soon.” Erik said. He really didn’t. 

“Yep! Well, in a month really but I like to be prepared.” 

“So things with Stark are going well?” Erik asked. 

She shrugged. “Sorta. I mean, they’re fine. It’s just that he’s a bit of a playboy.” 

“You don’t say!” Erik said unimpressed. It really was no news. Even Erik knew Tony liked to ‘explore’. 

Angel chuckled then sighed theatrically. “Yeah. You know what those rich types are like. They get bored so quickly.” 

“Charles isn’t like that!” Erik heard himself even before realizing he had opened his mouth.

Angel blinked at him surprised and confused and he suddenly felt quite stupid. 

“Of course not. I wasn’t talking about Charles.” she said quickly, surprised he took her words so literally. “I mean, it was a joke. It was not meant to be taken seriously.” 

“Charles is different.” Erik insisted. 

“That’s what I said.” Angel agreed, glancing awkwardly around at the stuff they were selling. Man! Erik was so grumpy and it was only Monday morning! He must’ve had a really tough weekend.  

“Damn right, he is!” Erik groaned. “So if you’re just gonna stay here talking nonsense about my husband, you better leave.”  

She gaped at him, eyebrows arched up. “Okay, I know you can be moody and unsociable sometimes, I know you’re kinda tricky to be around, but you’re definitely not a mean person.” she said. “So what’s with this outburst?” 

Erik ran his fingers through his hair and grimaced. “I’m sorry, Angel. I-- I don’t know where that came from.” 

Angel nodded. “Are you sure you’re okay? It looks like you’re going through something.” 

“I’m fine.” Erik lied. 

“If you say so.” she shrugged. 

It wasn’t like she could force an explanation out of him. He’d tell her when and if he was ready. Until then it was best to just change the subject. 

“The kids were angels the other night, by the way.” she said. “We had a great time and we’re planning on going to the movies together next week. If that’s alright with you, of course.” 

When Erik gave no reply, she tilted her head with concern. 

“Erik? Are you listening?” 

“Hmm?” 

_ Now  _ she was  _ really  _ worried. Erik had always been mentally present when it came to his kids. 

“What’s with you today? You’re so distracted and frustrated.” Angel frowned. “I expected you to be in a good mood after having some alone time with Charles.” 

Erik looked miserable. 

“Oh.” Angel gave him a compassionate look. “Don’t tell me he was working again.” 

“He’s busy. They have new projects to run and contracts to sign and… and stuff.” he waved his hand about, searching for an explanation he couldn’t quite feel close to his heart. “He has things to take care of. I’m only getting in his way.” 

Angel gave his hand a squeeze. “I’m sorry. But I’m sure you’re not in his way.” 

Erik shrugged. He wasn’t going to complain to Angel about his married life. He’d already said more than he was comfortable with. 

“What were you saying earlier? Something about the kids?” he asked instead. 

“Oh, yeah. I was asking if it’s okay to take the twins to the movies next week.” 

“Sure.” 

Angel hesitated a moment and then finally asked again. “Are you sure you’re okay?” 

“Yes, yes, I am.” 

She nodded. “Okay.”

Too bad she couldn’t just force him to share stuff with her, Angel thought and went back to work. 

—«·»—

As if by a miracle Charles wasn’t late that day. He was home by the afternoon, even before the kids returned from school. It was embarrassing how difficult it was for Erik to actually contain his excitement when he heard the key turning. 

“Charles! You’re home! How was your day?” he greeted him, muting the TV. 

Charles flopped down on the couch by Erik’s side with a groan.  

“That bad?” Erik asked, unable to wipe away the happy grin from his face. 

“Worse.” Charles sighed but when he looked lazily at Erik he was smiling too. “And yours?” 

He snuggled closer and rested his head on Erik’s shoulder. Erik wrapped an arm around him. 

“Oh, the usual.” he gave a shrug. “Seriously though, you work too much, Charles. You need to rest too.” Erik said, pressing a kiss to Charles’ forehead.”

Charles only hummed and leaned into the touch. 

“Only work and no play, y’know.” Erik teased. 

Charles let out a fond chuckle, throwing his leg over Erik so that his thigh rested at the area of Erik’s crotch. Erik’s eyebrows shot up immediately, surprised by the sudden initiative. Charles applied slight pressure there with his leg and Erik instinctively pressed up his hips, seeking more as his cock immediately took interest in this turn of events. 

Charles’ nose was buried in the crook of Erik’s neck, taking in the scent there and humming contently. It was amazing! Erik couldn’t believe this was happening! He was already far too gone to think, however, or he would’ve realized that they were still in the living room. But he’d been starving for Charles’ touch for weeks and suddenly having him back in his arms was too perfect for him to register that they were on the  _ couch _ and not in the privacy of their bedroom. He wrapped Charles tighter in his embrace, pulling him even closer as he allowed himself to enjoy this despite the very real concern that the kids would be back from school soon. 

“Pietro should be here in less than 40 minutes. “Erik moaned. “You, young people, do like to live so dangerously.”

Charles slid his hand under his husband's shirt, feeling the hot skin there. “I know when the risk is worth taking.” he replied, sucking a hickey on Erik’s neck. 

He really did have a thing for Erik’s neck, Erik thought distantly. He tilted his head, giving Charles better access to the area. Frankly, he couldn’t deny Charles anything. He loved him so desperately and utterly, he was putty in the younger man’s hands.

Charles shifted some more, stradling Erik and grinding down on him, his clever lips not breaking contact with his neck. The rest of the world was slowly disappearing around them -- there was only Charles and Erik and this moment. 

“I’ve missed you!” Erik groaned into Charles’ lips. “You’ve no idea how much!” 

“I know! I’m sorry! I love you!” Charles whispered back, breathless and passionate as always.

Erik’s heart was doing summersaults inside his chest. His hands roamed over Charles’ arms, his back and backside, desperate to feel everything  _ Charles  _ that he could reach. It’s been so long,  _ God _ , so  _ bloody  _ long! He needed Charles so badly! All those lonely nights…. To be able to feel Charles again, to feel the evidence of Charles’ love for him. To have Charles in his arms, on his lap again. It was too much and he wanted more of it! It made no sense how much he craved it. He could burn in Charles and be happy for it. 

“Charles! I’m gonna-- I’m--” He gasped quietly, a warning in his voice. He knew he wasn’t going to last long. In fact that was embarrassingly quick but just then Charles suddenly got off of him. “No, wait, don’t go--” Erik pleaded but Charles shushed him. 

“Pietro! He’s early!” Charles whispered, trying to make himself look decent again.

He had a point. They were lucky that by some miracle Charles managed to hear the front door or else things might’ve gotten even more awkward than they already were. 

“Shit! That’s what happens when we live dangerously!” Erik gasped quietly. “There’s no way I can face him like that.”  

“Just, hold this!” Charles threw one of the couch cushions at him. 

Erik arched an eyebrow. “You seriously think  _ this  _ will be enough to cover  _ me  _ up?” 

“Boast much?” Charles bit back his grin. He brought his legs up, hugging them to his chest in order to conceal the obscene bulge in his own pants. 

Before Erik could reply Pietro was already entering the room. 

Erik hadn’t seen his son all day so it was unfair that a part of him wished the boy had stayed at school a little bit longer. Damn it, it was  _ painful _ under that cushion. 

“Hey, Pietro.” he greeted, voice slightly tensed as he tried to act casual while a freaking cushion was covering his erection. 

It was all Charles’ fault! That sort of thing never happened before Charles came to their lives! He’d never been in such an embarrassing situation before. He only hoped his son won’t notice anything, he didn’t want to scar the child for life. 

“Hey.” Pietro mumbled under his breath and headed to get himself a cookie from the kitchen. 

Erik was hoping he’d manage to slip into the bathroom or the bedroom during the boy’s absence but then abruptly Charles gasped. 

“Pietro! What happened to you?” 

Charles’ sudden exclamation drew Erik’s attention back to his son and now that he took a closer look Pietro did indeed look terrible -- his clothes were dirty and his shirt was torn. He also seemed bruised. 

“I fell.” Pietro muttered. 

Charles instantly sprang up to his feet and knelt in front of the boy, examining him. He was full parent mode, not even a trace of his previous arousal. Come to think of it, the situation in Erik’s pants subsided too at the sight. 

“Your knee!” Charles exclaimed. “You scraped your knee!” 

“I told you I fell.” Pietro said again, getting impatient. “Can I go now? I need to change and take a shower.” 

“Does it hurt?” Erik asked worriedly, the cushion tossed aside as he gently touched near the wound. 

“No.” Pietro replied but that was clearly a lie for his face grimaced. 

“We need to clean it.” Charles stated, getting back up on his feet. “So it doesn’t get infected.” 

He gave Erik a quick tap on the shoulder and went to the bathroom to get the first aid kit. 

“It’s just a scratch!” Pietro protested in vain. 

“Charles is right, Pietro.” Erik said. “We should make sure it doesn’t get infected.” He looked closely at Pietro. “Are you sure everything’s alright?” he asked carefully. 

Pietro swallowed, pursing his lips as if trying to hold something in. “I’m sure.” the kid said.  

Erik frowned slightly, then looked back down at the scratched knee. It really wasn’t a deep cut, nothing to worry about, for sure. It was definitely not serious, provided it didn’t get infected. However, it was still new to have Pietro return from school in such a state. 

“Did someone push you or--” Erik asked but was soon cut off by his son. 

“It’s really fine, dad.” Pietro insisted. 

Erik nodded. “Alright.” he finally said just when Charles returned with the medical kit. 

“Here.” Charles offered. 

The two cleaned up the wound together and Pietro disappeared back to his room as soon as he could. 

“I don’t like this.” Charles said, taking in a deep breath and placing the medical supplies back into the box. 

“He said nothing happened. He has no reasons to lie to me.” Erik said. “If there was something behind this, Pietro would’ve told me.” 

Charles was still unconvinced. 

“He’s a boy, Charles.” Erik sighed, lying down on the couch to rest his head. “He was probably running too fast again and fell. It happens. You know how much he loves running fast.” 

Charles hummed. “I guess.” 

“I won’t be surprised if Wanda returns in a similar state. She can’t sit still these days either.” Erik chuckled, pulling Charles by the hand and urging him to sit down on the couch with him. Charles did so, reluctantly. “To be honest, I’m just glad they’re being active like that again. Like kids should be. Playing, laughing, falling, getting small scratches and all that. When I was a kid I used to climb the trees to get cherries. My mother couldn’t see the end of it -- me covered in cherries and bruises head to toe.” He smirked, amused. “Maybe that’s why I can’t get enough of your lips.” he said, softer, eyes glancing down at Charles’ mouth. “They look just like cherries. And I’ve always loved cherries.” 

Charles replied with a small smile but unlike what Erik expected he didn’t lean in for a kiss, didn’t give a sign that he wanted them to continue what they were doing a few moments ago. Instead he pulled his hand away from Erik’s and got up from the couch. 

Erik looked at him puzzled. 

“I need to wash my hands.” Charles explained at Erik’s wordless question and retreated to the bathroom where he stayed longer than what it would take him to just wash his hands. 

Erik let it slide. They were both tired and Charles had a lot of things on his mind. They couldn’t always be handsy and passionate. Slowing down was bound to happen for them at some point. They couldn’t be all over one another all the time.

Erik sighed. He liked it when they couldn’t get enough of each other. Damn it, Erik still couldn’t get enough of Charles! He still needed to feel and touch and taste Charles all the time! It kinda sucked that Charles was a bit more distant these days.

Erik shrugged and let it go. There’ll be plenty of time for them to spend together during the weekend when both of them were supposedly less busy.


	3. Chapter 3

“I’m concerned about Pietro.” Charles said while getting ready for bed.

Erik was already tucked in with a book and his reading glasses -- yes, he wore reading glasses and Charles thought it looked quite sexy on him!

“I have a strange feeling about his knee.” Charles explained.

Erik chuckled. “A strange feeling about Pietro’s knee?”

“Don’t laugh, I’m worried.” Charles sighed, sitting down on the side of the bed and giving Erik a look.

Erik smiled and reached out for his hand. “Sorry. It’s really sweet that you’re worried but Pietro’s knee is fine. It was just a scratch.”

“It’s not just that. It’s the state he was in today. I mean, was it really just a fall? What if he’s being bullied?” Charles whispered as if someone could overhear them in their bedroom.

Erik frowned. “I wondered about that too at first but when I asked he said it was fine.”

“Sometimes kids don’t feel comfortable talking about such things.”

“I agree. But Pietro is different. Pietro would’ve told me.”

Charles seemed distressed despite the reassurance.

“I’ll ask him again.” Erik promised, giving Charles’ fingers a comforting squeeze. “I doubt it’s something like that but just so you don’t worry anymore, I’ll ask again and be more persistent.”

Charles smiled with a nod. “Thanks, darling.” He leaned in and gave Erik a peck on the lips.

The gentlest brush of their mouths was enough to stir Erik and ignite his desires again. He chased after Charles’ lips when the younger man pulled away and wrapped an arm around his husband’s waist to bring them closer. Charles let out a surprised little sound as Erik deepened the kiss, the book discarded to the side as he pressed their chests together. Inhaling Charles’ scent was sublime. Erik had a good mind to finish what they started earlier that day. He missed Charles, he craved Charles. He needed him so badly and now Charles was finally in his arms again, his and only his!

“Chaaarles!” Erik groaned, lips trailing open-mouthed kisses down Charles’ neck.

Charles’ arms were around his shoulders, hands sliding down to his chest and then… then Charles pushed him away. It was a gentle but decisive action that came completely unexpected.

“Charles….?” Erik asked confused.

“Not tonight, darling, I’m sorry. I-- I’m tired and I have a headache.” Charles muttered, avoiding Erik’s gaze.

“Oh. Yes, sure. It’s fine. I’m-- I’m reading this book anyway.” Erik muttered awkwardly, lifting the book in front of himself as if it were a defensive wall.

“Good. I’ll go brush my teeth.” Charles said and disappeared into their bathroom.

Erik sucked in a deep breath and buried his face in his hands. How embarrassing was that! How could Erik be so stupid and ridiculous!? Charles was working hard all day for months, no break whatsoever, pushing himself to his limits, and Erik here was acting like a selfish horndog. He really needed to clear his head and get a grip!  

Charles emerged from the bathroom some time later, looking kind of guilty.  

“Erik, I--”

Even his voice sounded too apologetically, Erik couldn’t stand it. He didn’t want them to talk about what happened a moment ago. What was there to talk about anyway? Erik wanted sex, Charles didn’t, it was perfectly fine and there was nothing to discuss of feel bad about. He didn’t want to make Charles feel like he was obligated to never reject him just because they were married. This entire conversation would only be pointless and depressing.

“It’s Tony’s birthday soon.” Erik cut him off, desperate to change the subject.

“Oh, that’s right! I had forgotten all about it.”

“Yeah, I thought you might’ve.” Erik said, a fond smile appearing on his lips. “But Tony’s a good friend to you so it’s important you don’t forget his special day.”

“That’s true.”

“Besides, Angel would never forgive me if I didn’t remind you.”

Charles chuckled. “I wouldn't want her to throw a fireball at you or something.”

Erik grinned. “She  _ is  _ dangerous.”

“One of the reasons our kids like her so much. She could maim us for them if we don’t behave.”

They laughed together. It was a sweet feeling that made Erik feel close to Charles again. However, when the laughter died down Charles looked troubled again.

“Erik, about earlier….”

“Charles, I told you, it’s fine.” Erik said and brought his husband’s han to his lips, kissing his fingers. “Let’s just go to sleep.”

He put the book away in the drawer of his nightstand and lied down under the comforter.

“Okay.” Charles finally nodded and lied down too.

“Goodnight, Charles.”

“Goodnight, Erik.”

—«·»—

Erik was having lunch, alone as usual. Eating and staring at his phone. He was expecting a text from Charles. They had this tradition for the last year or so where they texted each other during lunch if they couldn’t actually eat together in purson. It was the closest they could get to a lunch date with Charles’ busy schedule and Erik’s  work. This little tradition had only been neglected on two occasions, each with a good reason and a warning. However, today Charles wasn’t responding. It was strange but Erik didn’t think too much of it; most likely something came up at work and Charles was unable to reply. So Erik had to eat  _ alone  _ alone this time. He had to admit it was a little lonely without Charles’ adorable messages.

And then his phone rang.

Assuming it was Charles, Erik grinned a wide grin but when he glanced at the screen his face fell. It was Wanda and Pietro’s principal -- Miss Emma Frost.  

“Hello?”

“Goodday. Am I speaking to Mr. Lehnsherr? Pietro Lehnsherr’s father?” Miss Frost asked from the other end of the line. Her voice had always been cold and firm but this time it felt even more so than usual.

“Yes. That’s me. Is something wrong?” Erik said, a horrible concern making his chest tight. “Are my children alright?”

“ _ Your _  children are  _ fine _ .” Miss Frost enunciated. “Which cannot be said of the boy your son beat up today.”

Erik blinked. “What.”

“Your son got into a fight today.” the principal continued in the same fashion. “He punched a boy in the face. The boy is currently being attended to by a doctor. He has a nosebleed and is also bruised by your son who pushed him to the floor in the school hall, then jumped on top of him to punch him once again in the jaw.”

Erik couldn’t believe his ears.

“Are you sure it was Pietro doing this? He’s not violent. He’s never been. He wouldn't do that without a reason.” Erik said. It was true Pietro did get angry easily -- a bit like Erik there so he couldn’t really blame the boy -- but he would never hurt anyone on purpose. Erik knew his son. “There must be a mistake.”

“No mistake, I’m afraid.” Miss Frost replied, not particularly touched by Erik’s emotional journey. “You need to come take your son. He’s suspended for a week. I hope you also take strong measures so that his violent outbursts are controlled.”

“Violent outbursts!?” Erik gasped. “Has he done that before?”

“Not in such a harmful way, no. But he doesn’t seem to have any friends in school so I do suspect he could resolve to such practices again. I wish to avoid this. Our school has a very firm anti-bullying policy.”  

Erik suppressed a sigh. “Yes. Yes, of course. I’ll talk to him. And take measures.”

“I managed to convince the parents of the injured boy not to press the matter any further,” Miss Frost continued, “but they do want your son to publicly apologize to their son. Which only sounds fair to me.”

“Yes, it is fair.” Erik replied dumbly, clenching his jaw. “I will be right over.”

Erik didn’t finish his lunch. He warned Angel that he might be late and hurried to the school to deal with this new unexpected problem. 

—«·»—

“I don’t understand. Why is Pietro grounded?” Charles asked Wanda, confused.

“Daddy said so.” Wanda replied.

“Surely he can come to eat dinner with us. He doesn’t have to be locked up in his room all the time.” Charles insisted, glancing at Erik questioningly.

“No, he cannot.” Erik replied. “He is grounded for a week and this is part of his punishment.”

“But, Erik… we hardly ever punish them.” Charles said a bit quieter, aware of Wanda’s presence but still feeling this matter was pressing enough to discuss it in front of her.

“He’s never gotten into a fight before.” Erik replied. “So such severe measures were unnecessary until now.”

Erik’s voice sounded so masterful and resolute even Wanda, who was far from grounded, felt uneasy at the dinner table. As if she was the guilty one, as if dad was angry with her just as he was angry with her brother. She remained quiet, afraid to attract attention to herself, even though she wasn’t sure why.

“I still cannot believe he’d get into a fight without a reason.” Charles said.

“I couldn’t believe it either until I went there and Pietro gave me the silent treatment instead of an explanation.” Erik said sharply. “He refused to apologize to that kid and there was nothing I could do to defend him because he wouldn’t even tell me what happened.”

Charles furrowed his brows. “How did you approach him? If you just started yelling at him, assuming he was guilty without hearing him out--”

“I didn’t yell, Charles.” Erik cut him off, the irritation audible in his voice. “I am on his side, okay? He’s my kid, I went there to defend him. But he gave no explanation whatsoever and seemed generally opposed to any sort of discussion afterwards. How do you expect me to react?”

Charles sighed, frowning at his food, not really eating it but mostly just stirring it idly with his fork. “I wish I was there. You should’ve called me, Erik.” he said.

“Really?” Erik eyebrows arched up, his gaze piercing Charles.

“Yes!” Charles gasped. “Yes, of course! They’re my children too. I care about what happens to them.”

“You may care, Charles, but lately you seem too preoccupied.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know what your priorities are anymore.”

“Excuse me? Our family is  _ always  _ my priority!”

“Oh, is it now? Because you hardly find time to even text me anymore, let alone talk to me.”

Charles pursed his lips. “That’s different, Erik.”

“Of course it is. In my naivety, I assumed communication meant something to you.”

“This is unfair. You’re being childish!”

“You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you!”

They continued arguing like that without noticing that Wanda was looking at them both with big round eyes, anxious and frightened without exactly understanding why. Dinner wasn’t as lovely as usual and she suddenly felt a terrible fear that this is what their dinners would always be from now on. The thought made her secretly hope to be grounded like Pietro so that she too won’t have to see dad and Charles fighting like that. They didn’t look in love at this particular moment. In fact, it seemed like they hated one another.

Why were they arguing and yelling? Did they not love each other anymore? And if they didn’t, were they still a family? Love was what kept Dad, Charles, Pietro and Wanda a family, that was how Wanda understood it. Charles wasn’t their real father but he joined the family because he loved them and they loved him. She already loved Pietro and Daddy. But if Daddy and Charles didn’t love one another anymore and were angry at each other, then how could Pietro and Wanda get Charles to stay in their family? It was so confusing and frightening. She tried to appear calm, pretending she wasn’t noticing their strange behavior. If she showed them how upset she truly was, perhaps she’d only make things worse! And she couldn’t have that! She couldn’t become a reason for them to hate one another!

So she bottled all the fears inside of her, retreating to her shaking inner world, craving to go to Pietro and talk to him about it. Pietro would understand. Wanda too understood Pietro better now. She was a witness to why it was a bad idea to share things with their parents. Sharing anything with them would only cause more arguments like this one. She couldn’t hurt them. Just like Pietro couldn’t hurt them.

While Charles and Erik were busy with their ‘discussion’, Wanda quietly slipped down from her chair and sneaked into her room, closing the door and staying inside where it was safe.


	4. Chapter 4

Pietro was grounded for a full week. He never once decided to speak about what happened that day when he punched his classmate. Wanda too was beginning to act strangely -- more distant, a bit like closing off, much like she used to before Charles came into their lives. Erik was confused. Wanda had always been reserved after her mother died, especially towards the outside world, but she was getting past that in the last year. Now all the walls were coming back up again and Erik didn’t know what to do.

Him and Charles returned to their usual dynamic. It wasn’t like this one argument made much difference in their entire relationship. Those things were common for couples. They both said things they didn’t entirely mean, or at least didn’t mean in a hurtful way, and now they made up and decided to work on it. Charles promised to try and find more time and Erik promised to be more patient. Life was good again.  

—«·»—

The time for Tony’s birthday party came sooner than expected. Perhaps that was because Tony decided to make it a three-day-long party, starting the day before his birthday, then including the actual birthday, and followed by another day after the birthday. Naturally, anyone willing to stay longer than that was also very welcome. Erik thought this was insane and probably terribly expensive. Charles only chuckled, not surprised at all by his friend’s ‘eccentricities’, as Erik called them. 

“Tony’s being Tony.” Charles said, affectionate amusement in his voice. “You should’ve seen his 21st. Or his 16th! Now that was--  _ intense _ .” Charles laughed at the memory, shaking his head with fondness. 

Erik shuddered. “Sounds terrifying.” he said with honesty. “If it wasn’t for Tony and Angel I would’ve just--” 

“I know, my darling hermit, but it’s good for us to go out every now and then.” Charles beamed at him and wrapped his arms around Erik’s neck. “Working and then staying cooped up at home all day, that’s not a way to live.” 

“I’m living just fine.” Erik pouted. 

Charles leaned up and kissed that pout away. “Come. Get ready.” he then said, giving Erik’s chest a few light pats. “We should go partey.” 

Erik chuckled fondly at his husband. “If you insist.” he said and went to get dressed. 

They hired a sitter. It was a bit unnerving to have someone other than Angel to do the job but Erik tried not to obsess over this by picturing different apocalyptic scenarios in his head. Still, just in case, they weren’t going to stay for the entire three days of birthday. Erik was confident they’d leave on day one. Tony, however, had _ a lot _ to say about that when he heard. 

“ _ One  _ day? What kind of a guest stays for just  _ one  _ day?” he exclaimed. 

“We have kids, Tony.” Erik reminded. “And I’m not too thrilled about leaving them with someone who’s not Angel.” 

“You could’ve brought the kids here. You know Angel and I love them.” 

Erik gave him a look. Clearly he wasn’t bringing his children to  _ that  _ kind of party.

Tony grinned. “I guess some other time.” he said. “I’m currently working on a robotic babysitter. That’ll be the end of your problems, Erik.” 

Erik chuckled. Tony was quite the character. Erik liked him, even if he did not always understand him. 

The party, however, was a whole different thing. It was a mixture of music, tech, booze and science. Not as weird a combination as one might expect. Erik lost Charles somewhere in the crowd. He noticed Angel mingling with the other guests and he knew Tony was either in his labs or somewhere showing off and making inappropriate jokes. He didn’t really know anyone else but wasn’t too keen on the prospect of making acquaintances with half-drunk people. 

Erik was not a party person. He’d much rather stay home where it was cozy. Here it was too loud and eventually he started feeling like an old person, older than his 33 years for sure. He wasn’t fond of all the noise and commotion at parties, all the strangers and booming were suffocating him and he needed air. He needed to get away. He needed to find Charles, grab him and get the hell out of here. 

He looked for Angel once again but when he couldn’t find her among the crowd he just slipped out through the nearest exit. He went on a quest for a quiet place, walking through the corridors of Tony Stark’s enormous home with the sole objective to hide from the party. His fingertips brushed against the wall as he went on and on until eventually he felt lost and stopped. 

The party noise was softer here at least. But other than that he had no idea where he was. Curse Tony and his stupid space house! Tony’s place was like a labyrinth unless you were Tony. Erik cursed his damned luck and started calling for someone to help out. Suddenly he heard voices and walked in their direction. The closer he got, the more he realized that one of them was Charles! 

“... sucks, it just sucks so much! I don’t know what to do.” 

It was definitely Charles! Erik’s heart skipped a beat. He was safe! Charles would get him out of this loud mess of a party! They could finally go home. 

“Come on, Charles.” Another voice said. “It can’t be  _ that  _ bad.” 

Erik recognized the second voice as Tony’s. So Charles was with Tony. Good.  

“Charles? Charles!” Erik called out. He couldn’t tell where the voices were coming from, he couldn’t find Charles and Tony. And they didn’t seem to hear him either, continuing with their conversation unaware of Erik’s presence  _ somewhere  _ around them. 

“I’m telling you this party is a distraction.” Charles said with a sigh. “A good distraction. I hadn’t realized how much I needed that.” 

“Why, thank you! I always knew I was amazing at throwing parties. Among other things.” Tony replied with a chuckle. 

Erik stopped in his tracks, brows furrowing at the words. Charles liked the party. Erik hadn’t thought of that possibility. Charles was a vibrant young man who’s been working day in and day out for months. Of course he needed to unwind a little bit; of course he’d enjoy a party with other vibrant young people. It was silly of Erik to expect him to want to go home with his husband. Charles needed the time off. Erik should let him enjoy himself. He headed back in the same direction he came from when suddenly the next words that came from Charles’ mouth made him freeze. 

“You don’t understand, Tony. It’s terrible. I can’t even be intimate with him anymore. I feel too guilty to touch him!”  

Erik stumbled away from the wall, away from the corridor. He didn’t want to hear this! He didn’t want to know! Especially not like this! Charles had to be the one to tell him if-- if there was something to tell.... 

There was a loud banging in his head. The world was blurred in his eyes. He couldn’t make out where he was or what was happening around him. He ran, he literally ran down that same cursed corridor, looking for a bathroom where he could throw up. He felt sick. 

_ “I can’t even be intimate with him anymore. I feel too guilty to touch him! It’s terrible!”  _

The words kept going on repeat in his head, driving him crazy, burning him like hot flames, turning his soul into dead ashes. 

_ “I can’t even be intimate with him anymore. I feel too guilty to touch him! It’s terrible!”  _

He left the party without a warning, without a goodbye, all alone as he felt. 

He didn’t go home straight away. He couldn’t. Instead he ducked into the nearest bar and got dead drunk. Naturally, he couldn’t go home in his state so he just slept in a motel, hoping his morning would be better than his night. 

—«·»—

Of course, it made sense. Erik was blind not to see it earlier. His love with Charles was too good to be true, too good to last. Charles was young and full of life. He had everything ahead if him. He was hungry for new experiences, thirsty for excitement. He was probably bored to death with Erik by now. He probably regretted marrying a grumpy weirdo and a father of two. But Charles was a kind soul. Falling out of love with his husband one year after their marriage was definitely making him feel guilty. Perhaps that was the reason he avoided talking to Erik about it. His guilt that he could no longer make himself love Erik. It was a miracle he stayed with Erik this long. Their love was a beautiful dream but now it was time for Erik to wake up and face reality. And reality was that he lost Charles. And it was a matter of time before Charles gathered the courage to tell him that himself.

Eventually Erik had to come back home. He returned to their flat around noon the next day. His hangover wasn’t as bad as he’d expected, he was lucky about that. Alcohol wasn’t his weakness. 

The moment he opened the front door Charles threw himself at him. 

“Erik! Thank God, you’re alright!” he gasped, hugging him tightly. “I was so worried! I thought the worst! I thought you were-- I thought something happened!” 

“I’m fine, Charles. Don’t worry.” Erik said, his face expressionless and numb.  

Charles let him go, looking at him with big blue searching eyes. “ _ Did  _ something happen, Erik? Is everything alright? You look--” he struggled to find the right word. 

“I look horrible. I know.” Erik offered with a shrug. “I need a shower. Where are the kids?” 

“At school.” Charles replied, following Erik’s every movement. 

“Good, good.” Erik muttered and headed to the bathroom.  

“Erik….” 

Erik stopped in his tracks, turning around to face Charles. "Do you have something to tell me, Charles?" 

Charles tilted his head, a puzzled frown on his face. “Um. No.” he shook his head. “No, nothing.” 

Erik gave a thoughtful nod. “Okay.” he said and turned around once again. 

With a heavy heart Erik realized that one lie could cause more pain than even the most hurtful truth.   

—«·»—

They didn’t speak much at their family dinner that day. They didn’t speak much at all. The few times Erik had attempted to start a serious conversation with Charles, Charles would always either change the subject and avoid all questions or simply excuse himself with work and leave. At Monday Erik even resolved to asking Angel if Tony had mentioned anything about Charles. She was surprised by the question but shook her head no, Tony hadn’t spoken of Charles at all. Nothing out of the ordinary, at least.  

Erik was confused and hurt. 

_ “I can’t even be intimate with him anymore. I feel too guilty to touch him! It’s terrible!”  _

Why wasn’t Charles speaking to him if something was wrong? If he was unhappy with their relationship Erik deserved to know. So why was Charles lying to him? 

“Are you happy?” Erik asked the next evening, deciding to be blunt about it. 

Charles closed his laptop. “What?” 

“You heard me. Are you happy. With us. With me….” 

Charles chuckled. “Of course, I am, silly. I love you.” 

Erik felt a sharp pain in his chest. “Are you sure?” 

Charles’ eyebrows went up instantly and he laughed again. “How could I not be?” 

Erik couldn’t offer a reply to that. 

Charles pulled him in for a peck, his hand stroking Erik’s cheek. “Is this because of the other night?” he asked quietly. “And because recently I don’t have much time and energy to--” 

“No. It’s not that. It’s not about sex.” Erik cut him off quickly. “I’m not asking about sex, Charles, I’m asking about… love.” 

Charles snuggled into his arms. “Well, I do love you. I wouldn’t have married you if I didn’t. I know I’m too busy lately but that’s not about you. That’s just work.” 

_ “I can’t even be intimate with him anymore. I feel too guilty to touch him! It’s terrible!”  _

Erik thought he’d given Charles enough time to come clean on his own. He was going to ask. 

“Because at Tony’s party I overheard something.” Charles tensed a little in his arms. Erik continued. “You were talking to Tony and your voice was coming from the walls and-- I couldn’t help but overhearing you say--” 

“My voice was coming from the walls?” He laughed, giving Erik a look. “Erik, darling, what did you take that night? Was it very bad acid?” 

Erik swallowed. “I didn’t take anything, Charles.” 

“You don’t hear voices from the walls if you don’t take stuff.” Charles said, resting his head on Erik’s shoulder once again. “There was probably something in your drink.” He yawned. “Good night, darling.” 

“Good night….” 

Could that be it? Was it all just a bad acid trip? Erik desperately wished to believe that. It was all a dream and Charles still loved him. Perhaps if he kept repeating this to himself, he’d believe it.  


	5. Chapter 5

Their conversation didn’t drastically change anything in their relationship. Charles was still working late every day, and to Erik he still felt distant and avoidant. It didn't seem like he wanted to have a serious discussion about Erik’s feelings so eventually Erik decided to be patient and wait for his husband to approach the subject whenever he was ready. In the meantime life went on as usual. 

“You okay?” Angel suddenly asked when there were no customers around. 

“Yeah, fine. Why?” 

She shrugged. “Just, you look.... not yourself lately.” 

Erik furrowed his brows. “How do you mean?” 

“I dunno. You look kinda tired?” she tilted her head, evaluating. “Is something going on? Is there a problem? Do you need to talk about it?” she offered. 

He knew she meant well but he was not ready to discuss that with anyone other than Charles. Truth be told, he wasn’t entirely sure he was ready to discuss it with Charles either but that was a whole different matter. 

“No, nothing’s wrong.” he lied. “Just tired, I guess. As you said.”

Angel shrugged even though he wasn’t sure if she was convinced. “Okay. If you say so.” 

“Yeah, I was up late watching a bunch of shows. Perhaps that’s what it is.” 

Angel hummed. “Must be that.” she allowed. “But in case it isn’t just that, you know I’m your friend and you can talk to me, right?” 

He felt so grateful to her at that moment. She made him feel he wasn’t completely alone after all, he had a loyal friend by his side. He wished he knew how to express all of his appreciation. “Thank you, Angel. I know I can count on you.” 

—«·»—

Charles felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out, glanced at the screen and turned it off with a heavy heart. Erik had to wait. Charles could not answer now.  

—«·»—

“Shit! Shit, shit, shit!” Erik cursed and hung up. He texted Charles instead, hoping that he’d read the message soon. 

Meanwhile Erik was almost nearing the hospital. He needed to gather his strength for this, for his son’s sake. The teacher was very vague on the phone, Erik still didn’t know what exactly had happened to Pietro. Apparently the doctors were still with him the moment the principal called. 

The time between that call and him reaching the hospital was a blur for Erik. He knew he had to react quickly and he did so but it was mostly autopilot. His mind was overloading with worry and fears. His son was in a hospital! Alone. Erik had to get there. Quick. There was nothing else at the time. 

“His leg is broken and there are several cuts and bruises on his body but nothing disturbing.” The doctor assured when Erik, pale and breathless, stood in front of his son’s hospital room. “He’ll be alright and the leg will heal in a few couple of months. I will give you instructions as to what you need to do for him in the meanwhile. You can see him now.” 

Erik had millions of questions -- how did it happen, how long will it take for him to get better, was he in pain, how to assist and help him, etc. -- but the most pressing thing seemed to actually hold his son, to reassure him he was loved and not alone. The poor boy needed his dad! And Erik himself needed desperately to be there by his boy. Nothing quite as horrible as the feeling of visiting your child in a hospital room. Erik had to be calm though, so that he could react properly and be there for his son. However, being calm when your kid was in a hospital was not an option. Erik rushed inside, trying desperately not to frighten the boy with his own fears and worries for his health.

“Pietro.” he brought a warm smile to his face. “Hey.”  

“Hey.” Pietro’s voice was weak. He was still dizzy with whatever medication they were giving him for the pain. He looked behind Erik, expectantly. Then frowned slightly. “Where is Charles?”

Erik took great effort not to flinch at the question. “He-- um…”

_ “Xavier Inc. How may I help you?” _

_ “Hello, I’m sorry to bother you but I need to speak to Charles Xavier, please. It’s very important and he won’t pick up his cell phone.... I’m his husband.” _

_ “I’m sorry, sir, but Mr. Xavier’s not coming to his office today. Would you like for me to take a message?” _

_ “You don’t understand, it’s an emergency. So, please, just tell him it’s me and he’ll accept the call. Please!” _

_ A short pause. “I truly am sorry, Mr. Lehnsherr, but Mr. Xavier really isn’t here. I wasn’t lying. He never came to the office today.” _

_ Erik lost his cool. “Are you fucking kidding me!? Just tell him it’s me!”   _

_ “Please don’t shout at me, sir! There’s nothing I can do for you. Mr. Xavier’s been absent from the office for the greater parts of the last few weeks. If you don’t know how to reach him, how could I?” the assistant suddenly cut herself off, perhaps realizing she may have said more than she was supposed to. She cleared her throat. “I am not aware where Mr. Xavier conducts his work meetings these days. Perhaps he’s out with new clients. I’m afraid I can’t help you. Good luck with your emergency and have a nice day.” _

“Dad?” Pietro’s voice pulled him back to reality. “Is Charles coming?”

Erik looked into the young boy’s big sanguine eyes. He sounded so hopeful it broke Erik’s heart a little.  

“I called him on my way here.” Erik swallowed around the tight lump in his throat. “He said he was in a very important meeting right now, very busy working, but he’ll try to get out of it and rush to us as fast as he can. Okay?”  

“Okay.” Pietro sighed, disappointed.

Erik prompted his shoulder on the bed, running his fingers through his son’s hair and stroking his head gently. “Hey, hey, don’t be upset.” he said softly. “Charles sends you his love. He said so.” 

Pietro smiled at that. “Good.” he said and leaned in to Erik’s hand. “We’ll wait for him together.”

Erik smiled back at him. “Yes, we’ll wait together.” 

What possessed him to say that? He hadn’t even heard from Charles that day. His words were a desperate attempt to reassure his son. Or perhaps to reassure himself. The dull sick feeling in the pit of his stomach stayed with him for the rest of the day. Lying to his son has never been something he’d do. However, in this particular case he had no idea what else he could tell the boy, since he himself hadn’t the foggiest what was going on. Charles was busy most of the time, that much was obvious. But now it turned out he wasn’t even spending that time at work. This could mean  _ anything _ . 

Erik pushed his worrisome thoughts to the back of his head and gave Pietro his full attention, remaining at the hospital by his son’s side. 

—«·»— __

His breathing came fast and heavy. He was sweating and flinching. It was just a dream. He  _ knew  _ it was just a dream and yet he couldn’t wake up from it, couldn’t stop himself from sinking deeper and deeper into this feeling. The nightmare was fitful and tortuous. There was no plot in it, simply an overwhelming horrific feeling of loss and pain. His kids were hurt, he was helpless, Charles was far away, a cold distant figure that didn’t seem to care for them anymore. Everything was gone and lost. Erik was alone again, surrounded by darkness, fear and pain. Only ruins remained of their little safe haven of a life and Erik wasn’t ready for this loss. Things were only made worse by the sad realization that there wasn’t just him and Charles to consider. Not only him and Charles to suffer. Pietro and Wanda were just as affected by whatever was going on between Charles and Erik. Erik’s kids loved Charles deeply. He was like a father to them. What would Erik tell them if Charles left? Erik had always considered himself lucky that the twins thought of Charles as a parent. It had always made him feel happy for their family. However, now that happiness was twisted into a grotesque reality their love for Charles would only cause more pain. How would Erik deal with his kids losing yet another parent? How could he  _ allow  _ that to happen? How would he be able to handle their loss and his own broken heart at the same time? 

He felt hotter and hotter, sweating and burning up. And then a hand on his shoulder pulled him out of the nightmare. It took him a moment to remember where he was and what was going on. His son was sleeping peacefully on the hospital bed in front of him. He himself was still sitting on the chair next to the bed and apparently had drifted off there in a crunched up and uncomfortable position. His back hurt. And he was still very much affected by his dream. He was grateful for the relief of waking up, wiping his forehead with his sleeve. His need of a shower was almost desperate but it had to wait. There were more pressing matters now. 

When he looked up he saw the hand that had awakened him belonged to Charles.  

“Charles…” Erik whispered but Charles only signalled for him to come outside so Erik quietly followed, mindful not to disturb his son’s rest. 

Once they were out in the corridor, Charles instantly looked up at Erik, his blue eyes filled with concern. For a brief moment Erik allowed himself to take a better look at the man. His husband resembled a deadman, all pale, white and visibly exhausted. 

“I got your text.” Charles said, voice slightly wavering despite his efforts to control it. “How is Pietro? The doctors gave me some information but I still have so many questions. They sounded so vague, saying they’ve explained you things but I just kept asking more questions and they said I should calm down but it makes my head hurt and I just--”

He was blabbering. Erik mercifully cut him off.  

“A broken leg.” he said. “It’s a broken leg, Charles. It’s painful but he will be alright. The doctors say there’s nothing to worry about. Just a broken bone, no complications.” 

Charles inhaled and exhaled loudly. He bit at his lower lip, hard, his brows furrowed worriedly. He looked sad. “I should’ve been here.” he muttered regretfully. The words were a quiet whisper that Erik wouldn’t have heard in the hospital commotion had he not been expecting Charles to say something. “I should’ve been here for him when he needed me.” 

“I was here so it’s fine.” Erik said. 

“Yes, of course but he was frightened and in pain and _ I  _ wasn’t with him.” His voice broke a little as if he was fighting back sobs. 

Charles was obviously beat. And a part of Erik couldn’t help but wondering what got him so tired if he wasn’t even attending work these last weeks. Claiming he was dreadfully busy in the office while all that time he’d been skipping work, it didn’t sound like Charles at all, but then again why would the assistant lie about it? Still, it was hardly the time or place to bring that up. Pietro was the priority at the moment. Everything else had to wait. Erik had to restrain himself from asking questions while his child was sick. However, he had his mind firmly made up to confront Charles about this whole thing once the Pietro situation subsided a little. In the meanwhile he was very careful not to invade Charles’ personal space by stepping too close to him, just in case it was something Charles was no longer comfortable with. Surprisingly, Charles seemed to want the exact opposite, taking a step closer as he wrapped his arms around Erik’s waist and rested his head over his husband’s heart. 

He truly looked miserable.  

“Pietro needed me and I wasn’t here.” Charles whispered and his voice sounded like he was crying, or trying not to cry. “You all needed me and I wasn’t here.” He pressed himself even closer to Erik as if seeking his warmth and strength, as if Erik could give him strength too.  

Confusion washed over Erik. 

_ I cannot even be intimate with him anymore! I feel too guilty to touch him! _

It made no sense. If Charles found touching Erik so so repulsive, if it was making him feel so guilty to be around him, then why was he pressing himself into Erik’s arms like a snuggling kitten? 

“Where’s Wanda?” Charles muttered into Erik’s chest, breaking the chain of Erik’s thoughts. 

“Home.” Erik replied. “With Angel. I closed the shop.” 

Charles nodded. “I owe you an apology too. I should’ve been here. Pietro needed me and you neede--”

“I told him you were busy.” Erik cut him off, tense and unsure. Perhaps worrying over the children made Charles so vulnerable hence the long hug. Was it solely a reaction to Charles’ current vulnerability? It was still very confusing for Erik. He didn’t know how to behave. He wished he knew what Charles expected of him. That would’ve made things at least slightly less baffling. Charles was small and vulnerable in his arms and Erik suddenly realized he was rubbing Charles’ back to comfort him. It was not a conscious decision, it was an instinct stronger than him. He quickly let go the moment he caught himself doing it.

“It’s a broken leg, Charles, it happens.” he said, taking a step back.  

Charles sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. It was damp and messy, which was unusual since Charles took great pride in his hair. “I’m sorry you had to be alone for this, Erik.” he said, blue eyes meeting Erik’s. “I know I’ve been--  _ horrible  _ lately….”

And just like that Erik suddenly couldn't take more of it. Charles was suffering. He was tormented and Erik wasn’t equipped to deal with this or allow it to happen.

“It’s alright, Charles.” he heard himself say. “Don’t worry about this now. We’ll talk later. It’s fine.”  

Charles’ eyes were big and doe-like when he looked up at Erik. They seemed a little wet too. “You’re always there for me when I need you.” he said. “And what do I do in return? I keep messing up. I keep bringing you down. I forget our dinners, I don’t find time to properly text, I let you spend your nights alone and I’m not there for important things. You were on your own when I should’ve been here  _ with you _ .” 

Was  _ this  _ it? Was  _ this  _ when Charles would tell him he wanted out? The timing was extremely poor but Erik would take it, if he had to, just to finally have some clarity. 

Charles sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled, biting his lower lip nervously. “I have a good reason, y’know.” he said. “For everything, I  _ do  _ have a good reason.” 

Erik realized his mouth was dry. Theoretically he knew he was supposed to say something, to encourage Charles to speak, but he couldn’t. The only thing he could offer was a silent gaze. 

“You won’t even ask me what the reason is.” Charles said, grimacing down at his hands as if he couldn’t bear the sight of Erik’s face. “Gosh, Erik! You’re so trusting!”

_ Now! _ , Erik thought desperately,  _ speak  _ **_now_ ** _! _ Erik was supposed to say something  _ now _ .  _ Say something! Say something, damn it! _

Charles looked back up at him again. His eyes were slightly wet again but he looked considerably calmer. “It will get better.” he said. “I promise. I just need some time to sort things out and I’ll be fine. I’ll come back to you. It’s only--”

“Time for your son’s check up.” The nurse smiled at them both, interrupting Charles’ words. “Are you the parents?”

Charles shared a look with Erik. “Yes.” he said, lacing their fingers together. “Yes, we are.”

“Well, let’s see how he’s doing and perhaps we can let him go home tomorrow.” The nurse said cheerfully and entered Pietro’s room. 

Not letting go of Erik’s hand, Charles followed. 


	6. Chapter 6

“It’s important you tell us what happened, Pietro. Alright?” Charles said softly, rubbing the boy’s arm up and down in a soothing motion.

Erik was pacing nervously around the hospital room, hardly able to contain himself. Pietro’s been awake for hour, he was feeling considerably better and yet he still refused to speak about the incident. 

“Just tell us what happened!” Erik demanded.

“I don’t want you both to be upset…” Pietro said quietly.

“I’m upset already! You were  _ hurt _ , for fucks’s sake!”

Charles’ eyes went wide. “Erik! Language!”

Erik rubbed the bridge of his nose, exasperated from hours of trying to get his son to talk. “I’m sorry.” he said, kneeling by his boy’s bed, looking him in the eyes. “I am, but Pietro, this is very important. Did someone do this to you? Was this no accident? Did someone hurt you?”

He was looking his son carefully in the eyes. The mere thought of someone hurting him filled Erik with rage and pain. If  _ anyone  _ touched his boy, Erik didn’t know what he’d do! Pietro had bruises and a broken leg! What sort of a person would do something like that!? 

Pietro seemed to hesitate but his mouth was half-open as if he was about to speak. Both Erik and Charles realized they were holding their breaths, waiting for the boy to feel safe enough to share with them. Finally Pietro exhaled slowly, closing his eyes. And he spoke. He talked about that first day when the little giggles started. He talked about how the giggles turned to hurtful words. He talked about how when nothing helped he couldn’t stand it any longer and got into a fight -- that same fight Erik was called to the Principal’s office for, that same fight Pietro got grounded for. Erik felt another pang of pain in his chest at the thought that he had punished his son for defending himself. Charles, as if sensing Erik’s thoughts, took his husband’s hand in his own and gave it a gentle squeeze.  _ You are not alone. I’m by your side. We’re in this together.  _ Erik tried to control his breathing, to stop his his anger from raging on, not in front of Pietro, and definitely not now. Charles’ warm hand grounded him, gave him patience, strength and the emotional support he so desperately needed at this very moment. Just one touch from Charles was enough to make Erik feel like he was not alone in this cruel world. Even now.  

They listened to their son’s story. Pietro told them exactly how everything happened. The way his bullies surrounded him once again. The way he tried to get away from them, to scare them off, to free himself of them. The way they pushed him down the stairs. Perhaps they didn’t mean to leave an evidence of their actions such as a broken leg, Pietro surmised, but it had happened and they got scared of getting caught, leaving Pietro down on the cold floor in pain. Erik felt numb. His son had been bullied all this time, mentally and physically. And Erik had no idea. Erik had been so preoccupied with his own worries that he’d missed the signs, remaining blind to his son’s quiet suffering. He had even grounded him once. All Pietro had tried to do was defend himself from his tormentors and what Erik did in response was to ground him to his room. 

“Oh, Pietro…. Why didn’t you tell us earlier?” Charles whispered, wrapping his arms around the boy, holding him tightly in his embrace as if hoping his love would fix all the bad memories and make all the fear, anger, bullying and torture go away. 

Of course, a hug wouldn’t fix something like that, but it would sure make things easier to bear. Pietro seemed to realize that because he instantly wrapped his own arms around Charles and let the tears fall down his eyes. 

“I didn’t want you to worry about me.” the boy said, snuggling into Charles’ warm embrace. “And I didn’t want you two to get hurt from what the idiots at school would say about you.”  

Charles shook his head. “People can be mean, Pietro. They can even be cruel sometimes. It’s usually because they don’t know any better. Or because they have this rage inside them that they don’t know what to do with. They’ve wronged you. And you’re right, they were idiots to say these things. But you can always count on us to stand by your side whenever you’re being attacked by such people. We’re your family and we’re here for you, always. I promise!” Charles leaned in and pressed a loving kiss to the boy’s forehead. “I love you, Pietro! And I’m so proud of you!” 

Erik remained silent, lost in thought. The wrinkle between his eyebrows becoming more and more prominent as his mind couldn’t stop repeating his son’s story in his head over and over again. Pietro was bullied. And he didn’t tell anyone. Not that Erik was surprised by that. Kids did not always tell their parents when they experienced such things. Erik himself was never skilled at sharing, always trying to handle his problems on his own. His son wasn’t much different in that aspect. Still, it was sweet the way Pietro put Charles and Erik’s feelings before his own, the way he wanted to protect them. Erik was proud of his son for his bravery. He only wished he could have spared him the pains. And the  _ broken leg!  _

Charles cast a glance in Erik’s direction and it was enough to convey everything they both felt and thought on the matter. Time to take action! 

—«·»—

“Boys will be boys, Mr. Lehnsherr.” Principal Frost said. “I’m sure they were only teasing.” 

“Pietro’s leg is broken _. _ ” Erik deadpanned, not finding any of this amusing. “How can you say ‘boys will be boys’? What does that even  _ mean _ ? My son’s leg is  _ broken _ !” 

“A misfortunate accident, no doubt.” she waved it off. “I sincerely hope your son is recovering well and would soon be able to return to the classroom. We don’t want him to miss out on the curriculum. Of course, the school will send him balloons, cards and--”

“Excuse me, what?” Charles arched an eyebrow. 

Until this moment Charles had been sitting quietly by Erik’s side, letting Erik deal with the situation. A silent observer. Being the calmer one of the two Charles was supposed to hush Erik in case Erik went too far. That was what they agreed upon on their way to the school. However, the roles seemed to be reversing now. 

“Um, pardon?” The Principal turned towards him with that same fake pleasant smile. 

“ _ What _ did you just say?” Charles repeated.

“I said, the school will send balloons and--” the Principal replied, a little uncertain.

“You’re going to send him  _ balloons!?”  _ Charles exclaimed. “Are you  _ insane _ !? A group of your students emotionally and physically abuses another one of your students and all the school is going to do is send the abused kid  _ balloons!  _ And you have the audacity to demand he doesn’t _ miss out on the curriculum _ !? Can you even hear yourself!? The boy was  _ abused  _ ! They  _ beat  _ him  _ up  _ and  _ broke his leg _ ! Do you think I care at all about his Math classes? Or freaking  _ balloons _ ???” 

Emma Frost was usually a person to not be bothered easily. She’s been famous for her cold exterior and perfect calmness. However, even she was taken by surprise by Charles’ sudden firmness and anger. 

“This is serious!” Charles continued. “Bullying is not a joke. It’s not a prank. And it’s definitely not  _ ‘boys being boys’ _ . It’s an actual danger! How many students must get hurt before this school starts taking bullying seriously!?”

“Mr. Xavier, I--”

“When are you going to do your job properly and do something about bullying?” Charles demanded. Erik remained quiet by his side, secretly enjoying his husband’s behaviour. 

“We are taking measures--” Principal Frost said, lips pursed into a tight line. 

“What kind of measures are those? I want them all listed. And  _ prooved _ . None of those fake measures that make no actual difference. I am not sending my son back to a school where he can be abused, hurt and disrespected at any given moment. And what was he bullied for? Do you know? Did you even investigate the matter? He was bullied because of his father’s sexuality. Something that Pietro has nothing to do with! Do you realize how serious this is? And I mean serious for  _ you _ , because  _ you allow  _ that sort of thing to happen in your school. Aren’t you supposed to put a stop to such nonsense!?”  

“Mr. Xavier, I realize this is difficult for you….” 

“Schools that allow bullying should be closed!” 

Emma Frost blinked a few times, taken aback but also visibly disturbed by Charles’ last remark. Being an unsatisfied parent aside, the Xavier name had considerable influence that Charles could still find useful in case he decided to ‘go to war’ against her. He could actually close the school if he put his mind to it. 

She swallowed. “Mr. Xavier, you have my word that I will make sure bullying is uprooted from this school from now on. I agree with your outrage and I will personally see to it that strong measures are taken.” 

Charles only nodded, his face just as determined and hard as it was when he was speaking a moment ago. He then glanced at Erik, wordlessly asking him if they could leave now. 

Erik was trying hard not to smirk at this whole situation. Miss Frost sure got what she deserved! Erik had never seen the Principal so nervous and small, tiptoeing around Erik’s husband like a frightened little girl. Her defenses were cracking, leaving her vulnerable at their mercy. Speaking of firsts, Erik had never seen  _ Charles  _ this furious before either. He knew he had it in him but it was still remarkable to see what he was capable of in person. 

Charles’ eyes were still wild and stormy, his entire body resonating with his anger even after they left the Principal’s office. It made Erik assume the role of the calm one for a change. That was odd.

“You didn’t have to do that for me. Thank you.” Erik muttered on their way back home. 

Charles was too far gone to respond. He was still too affected by the conversation he’d just had. 

Erik tentatively placed his hand on top of his husband’s. “Charles?”

Charles flinched. “I’m sorry, Erik.” he sighed. “If I start talking about this, I’ll rant for days.”  

“It’s okay to rant. I’m here to listen.” Erik reassured, carefully placing a hand on Charles’ knee before removing it again. Did such physical reassurance even help Charles under the circumstances? 

“Can you  _ believe  _ this woman!?” Charles gasped. “How can a principal of a school be so--” he let out a frustrated groan. 

“Unfortunately, lots of people are that way.” Erik said regretfully.

“But she’s a _ principal of a school  _ ! Her actions have consequences, they leave mark on so many students! How can she be so careless about their wellbeing? Those are young individuals whose personalities are being formed there, in that school. And what kind of environment do they get to develop in? A place where bullying is considered normal behavior! That’s not normal, Erik! That’s just wrong! It’s wrong and no one does anything useful about it!”

“Charles…”

“I told you I should’ve remained quiet. I warned you I won’t be able to stop now.”

Erik smiled warmly at him. It was a bit sheepish but it came from his heart. Charles, caring Charles full of conviction, was a sweetheart. Erik had to fight an urge to pull him into an embrace and give him all the love and comfort he was capable of. 

“And I told you it’s okay. You can rant to me, Charles.” Erik assured. “You can share anything with me. Whatever’s bothering you, feel free to talk about it.” 

If Charles understood the hint, he didn’t react. They discussed Pietro again, his health, his leg, Wanda and how she felt. They once again went over the entire situation with the school for the rest of the car ride, not once mentioning their own unspoken issues. 


	7. Chapter 7

They were allowed to take Pietro home sooner than expected. He was recovering with admirable speed, however, bedrest was vital for him, especially those first days. So the entire family made sure he got it even though Pietro himself found it tiresome and annoying to be confined to his bed like that, unable to move much or run around. Understanding his predicament perfectly well and sympathizing with her brother, Wanda hardly ever left his side while he was resting in his room. She was there for him to entertain him and cheer him up, not allowing him to get angry or too bored. Erik was amused and emotionally touched to see her grow into quite the protective and caring sister. 

Charles too was by the boy’s side. He took some days off work and was home most of the time with a few exceptions once a day. Several times Erik was on the verge of asking him to continue their conversation from the hospital. But each time it didn’t feel like the right time to start a serious talk like that. Pietro was the priority now and Pietro needed Charles’ attention as much as he needed Erik’s. And oh, he sure got it! Charles fussed around Pietro and Wanda all the time and Erik found that incredibly adorable and sweet. He appreciated that Charles cared about his children so much. It was sad really that even with all his suspicions regarding their relationship Erik still couldn’t be mad at Charles. It was pathetic. Whenever they were alone, he tried to ignore his aching heart. Charles behaved the same way he always did in the good old days. There was no awkwardness between them so long as they ignored  _ ‘the topic’ _ . So Erik accepted the situation as it was. For now at least. It was not the time to address the issue. Pietro was still recovering, Wanda seemed nervous and Charles wasn’t ready to talk. On top of that they had a campaign to work on after Charles waged a war against bullying. Charles insisted to participate actively in whatever measures Principal Frost had in mind and add his own visions to it as well. Naturally. Erik had to be patient with his insecurities and questions. 

He was lying in bed, reading his book absentmindedly and trying not to think about the one thing that was actually bothering him. Charles was in the shower. Erik could hear the water running and hated himself for being distracted by the thought of Charles’ naked wet body. Longing for things he wasn’t sure belonged to him anymore was a whole new brand of torture. 

The phone vibrated on Charles’ nightstand. Another text. He received quite a few of those lately. Erik tried to put his mind at rest. Even if Charles had someone else in his life, if that was the case here, he wouldn’t be  _ stupid  _ enough to text that person with Erik in the same room! Erik was just being paranoid. It was probably work-related. 

The water in the shower stopped running and Erik was pulled back to reality. He glanced down at his book, the same page he’s been on for half an hour now. He might as well give up at this point. However when Charles came out of the bathroom, wearing only his boxers, hair still damp, his body radiating freshness from the shower, his cheeks and lips rosy from the hot water, Erik felt his heart make a strange jump in his chest. He wished he hadn’t looked up from his book. Charles loved hot showers, Erik remembered that well. The water was always a bit too hot for Erik’s liking but Charles loved to steam up the entire bathroom. The result suited him well though, since it always made Charles look more cheerful and refreshed. Erik was painfully reminded of the fact at this moment. He took in the view appreciatively, even though the rotting fear that Charles was keeping something from him was ruining it a little. Still, he couldn’t look away. 

Perhaps his gaze wasn’t too subtle because eventually Charles smirked and arched an eyebrow at Erik.  

“Like what you see?” he asked playfully.

Erik swallowed, brows furrowed. There was no need denying it, the look on his face was more than telling, he was sure. Besides Charles could read him like an open book. “Mhm.” he nodded. 

Charles seemed pleased with the answer. He approached slowly like a panther, abandoning the t-shirt he was about to put on and climbing up on the bed instead. Erik watched with wide eyes as his husband seductively made his way up to him, getting so close they were practically breathing the same air. Erik licked his lips subconsciously, his mouth suddenly going dry. 

Their eyes met and Erik could feel his heartbeat speeding up by their proximity. The intensity of his husband’s gaze was making him weak in the knees, he was glad he was already lying down. Charles smelled deliciously, his own scent mixed with the freshness of the shampoo, it was driving Erik crazy! He allowed himself to drown in it, closing his eyes as he inhaled deeply. Heat radiated from Charles, his hand was warm on Erik’s thigh as he traced up the line of Erik’s body, making him shiver with desire. His every sense was heightened to unimaginable proportions. Before he could register it, Erik felt a pair of soft lips brushing lightly over his own. His breath hitched and he froze under Charles. Charles’ lips hovered over his for a moment before he brought them together once again in another gentle kiss. Erik kept his eyes closed as Charles’ mouth coerced him into another kiss, and then another, and another, just as sensual and mind-blowing as the first. Erik sighed. His eyes remained closed. He dreaded the idea of opening them as if once he did the illusion would be broken and this whole thing would turn out to be just a dream. Instead he surrendered himself at Charles’ mercy.  

Charles’ clever lips pressed a few featherlight kisses to Erik’s lips again and then trailed down Erik’s jawline, his neck, his chest. Erik could hardly contain the small whimper that escaped him at the touch. He’s been  _ starving  _ for this. For Charles to love him back, for Charles to still care. He  _ loved  _ Charles, he  _ wanted  _ Charles in his life. Charles was not just a ray of sunshine in Erik’s existence, Charles was the sun itself! The mere idea of losing that sun, of losing Charles, of being replaced by someone else in Charles’ heart…. was too hurtful. Not to mention a real mood killer. Once the thought was back in Erik’s head, it refused to leave. That was enough to sober him up. It felt all wrong for Charles to be with him when-- when he was probably thinking of someone else. 

Erik finally opened his eyes. 

“Charles.” 

“Hmmm?” Charles hummed, his hand slowly sliding down Erik’s chest and further down his abdomen, nearing his crotch. 

Erik swallowed. “Charles, what are you doing?” 

Charles grinned into his neck. “What does it look like I’m doing?” he whispered, his hand slipping into Erik’s boxers as an answer to the question. Erik quickly grabbed it by the wrist before it could reach its final destination.  

“I know  _ what _ . But why?” he asked, hating how hoarse his voice sounded. 

Charles propped himself on his elbow and looked at him puzzled. “Do I need a reason?” 

“Recently, yes.” 

Charles huffed. “I want you. There’s a reason.” he said simply and leaned in to press another kiss to Erik’s neck.  

His hand was still restrained by Erik’s grip so Charles used his thigh instead by swiftly sliding it between Erik’s legs. It was an invitation. One that Erik could not accept right now. Not until things were clear between them. He pulled away. 

“Erik?” The look on Charles’ face was hurt and confused. He was waiting for an explanation since every other indicator pooved that Erik clearly wanted this.  

“I can’t do this, Charles. It feels like you’re trying to make up for earlier.” 

Charles shook his head energetically. “No, no! It’s nothing like that, I promise! I want this. I want you….” 

Erik tried his best to keep the pain away from his voice as he said, “I’m not sure about that anymore. And if you’re not sure about it either, perhaps making love isn’t such a good idea.” 

It broke his heart to utter the words. It broke his heart even more to see Charles pull away from him as he heard them. 

He flopped down on the pillows next to Erik and let out a heavy sigh. “I guess it’s not fair on you.” he said, running his hands over his face tiredly. “I just can’t tell you yet, Erik. I’m really sorry. I wish I could but I’m not ready to tell you this.” 

Erik bit his lip. “Mhm.” 

“It’s nothing horrible, I promise!” Charles said quickly but somehow Erik didn’t feel reassured. “It’s just… Something happened in my life, a change, and I’m trying to figure things out for myself. When I do that, I’ll tell you everything.” 

Erik frowned slightly. “I still don’t understand, Charles. Why can’t you share this with me now? I could help you with whatever you’re going through. I’m here for you.” 

“I know you are! And I appreciate it, I really do. Just,” he placed a hand on top of Erik’s, the touch gentle and light, “be patient with me a little longer. Please?” 

The warmth in Charles’ voice, his pleading eyes. Erik sighed. “I’m worried about you. That’s all. I’m worried about  _ us _ .”  

“Us?” Charles prompted himself on his elbow, stroking Erik’s hand lovingly. “Erik, I swear nothing’s changed in how I feel about you.  _ I love you _ . I  _ always  _ will.” he brought their foreheads together, taking in a deep breath. “You’re the love of my life, Erik. I could never not have you in my life.” 

Erik wanted to cry. He actually had to make effort to hold back the tears that were budding in his eyes. “Then why? I don’t even know what to think anymore.” he asked.  

He just felt tired, so tired. Charles snuggled closer to him, wrapping his arms around him.  

“It’s not your health, is it? You’re not terribly sick or something?” Erik finally voiced the one thing that he dreaded the most. The one thing he didn’t dare even think -- that Charles was terminally ill. 

Charles shook his head. “No, it’s nothing like that. You’re not losing me like that.” 

At least that was a relief. 

“How am I losing you then?” Erik asked. “Because that’s what it feels like. It feels like I’m losing you. And if that’s the case I want to know. I mean, is there someone else?” 

Charles was suddenly very serious. He pulled away. “There is someone else, yes. But it’s not what you think.” 

Something inside Erik broke. So it was true. There was someone after all. All this time a part of Erik had been hoping that Charles would deny it. Now there was no escape from reality. 

Charles sighed heavily. “You were not supposed to learn about it like that. I wanted to keep you out of this for as long as I could…. I was planning a speech….” 

“A speech? I don’t want a speech, Charles! I want the truth! Don’t lie to me,  _ please _ ! Just don’t lie to me!” 

“I’m sorry! I never meant to lie to you, Erik. I just wasn’t ready to tell you. I didn’t-- I didn’t know how you’d react. And what you’d think of me once you found out….” 

“Tell me now. Whatever it is, tell me now. Let’s have it out in the open and deal with it  _ together _ . Like we always do.” 

Charles looked a little uncertain, contemplating the possibility to be out with it, perhaps. Just when he finally seemed to have made his decision and opened his mouth to speak his phone buzzed again with another text and interrupted him. 

Charles reached for his nightstand.  

“No.” Erik shook his head. “No, Charles, don’t get that. We need to talk about this. Anything else can wait.” 

Charles gave him an apologetic look and took the phone in his hands. “I’m sorry, Erik, but this can’t wait. It could be very important.” 

Erik gaped. “More important than our marriage?” 

Charles was already reading the text, like Erik’s words didn’t even matter to him! “I have to go!” he gasped, jumping up from the bed and looking for his clothes.  

“Charles!” Erik realized that his voice was trembling but he couldn’t stop it for the life of him. Unknowingly he had reached out for his husband, holding his hand tightly by the wrist and pulling him back to himself. 

Charles’ eyes were wide and wild when their gazes met. “Our marriage is important to me, of course it is. But this is important too.” he said. “Now, please, let me go!” 

Realizing his grip on Charles was getting too tight, Erik released him. “It’s the middle of the night.” he said. “You’re leaving in the middle of the night. And I deserve to know why.” 

For a moment Charles stood frozen and half-dressed in front of him. But it only lasted a second before he continued getting ready. “I can’t do this now. I’ll explain when I get back. I promise! But now-- now I have to go!” 

Erik watched in heartbroken shock as Charles rushed out of the bedroom, turning his back to him and going to see whoever it was that sent that unfortunate text. 

—«·»—

Two minutes. That was how long it took Erik to snap out of it, grab his own clothes and rush out in the middle of the night, leaving his two sleeping children alone in the flat while he followed his husband like some kind of a stalker. He couldn’t let it go. He didn’t want to let it go either. He couldn’t be patient anymore. He had to know. He had to confront Charles. 

When he got downstairs he saw Charles taking off with his car. It was useless to call him, he wouldn’t reply, nor would he stop for Erik. So Erik followed the car. This was a new low for him -- chasing his husband in a jealous rage. 

It wasn’t a long drive. Apparently Charles had found a lover close by, for more convenience no doubt, Erik added with bitter sarcasm. He couldn’t recognize this side of himself. As if Charles’ betrayal had altered his own personality, taking something from him that Erik couldn’t restore. 

And yet, even now, there was still a part of him that kept  _ hoping _ . It was the part of Erik that still trusted Charles. 

_ “I love you. I always will. You’re the love of my life, Erik. I could never not have you in my life.”  _

Why would Charles say those words to him if he didn’t mean them? Perhaps things were more complicated than what Erik had assumed. Perhaps Charles never lied after all. Perhaps there was a perfectly logical explanation about all of this and it had nothing to do with a lover at all. Perhaps Charles really still loved him. Perhaps….

Charles parked the car, slipped out of it and rushed towards one of the houses on the street, ringing the doorbell. 

Erik remained in his own car, unintentionally holding his breath as he observed Charles from a distance. He had to see, he had to be sure. 

Someone opened the door for him. Erik froze. A woman. It was a woman. 

She wrapped her arms around Charles, talking about something agitatedly all the while. She seemed happy to see him though. Charles kept nodding and hugging her back then the two went inside the house. 

Erik was still processing. A woman. Charles was meeting a  _ woman _ . 

_ “Something happened in my life, a change, and I’m trying to figure things out for myself.”  _

Well,  _ that  _ explained a lot. His words from earlier, his pleads for Erik to wait for him to deal with things, it all made perfect sense now, illuminating the whole situation with painful clarity. It was a woman. Charles was meeting with a woman. If he’d fallen for a woman, how could Erik compete with that? It was apples and oranges. If Charles wanted a woman, there were certain things Erik could not give him. Even if Charles was indeed still in love with him. Now it was even more understandable why he said he needed to figure things out before making any final decisions and telling Erik about it. The real tragedy of the whole situation was suddenly overwhelming Erik. He imagined what Charles must have been going through all this while. And knowing his husband, Charles was probably too hard on himself for things that were out of his control. One could not control one’s feelings and emotions. Not really. 

Erik drove back home. They’ll talk. But they’ll talk when Charles returned. 


	8. Chapter 8

It was a sleepless night for Erik but he’d expected that already. He didn’t even go to bed, knowing it would’ve been pointless to even try closing his eyes. He waited on the couch instead, wrapped in a blanket. Charles had to be home at some point and then they had a lot to talk about. 

He was very tense, too tense, but he refused to allow himself to drink even though he wanted to. He craved the blissful oblivion of drunkenness but he had to be sober for this. The hours passed slowly, trying his patience even more. 

The children woke up rather early that morning so Erik made them breakfast quickly and tried not to show how distraught he was on the inside. They didn’t need to worry about him on top of everything else. So he smiled at their usual chatter and was pleased to see that at least Pietro was getting better, his broken leg hardly giving him any great pains anymore. 

After breakfast the twins went back to their rooms and Erik remained in the kitchen under the pretext he needed to clean up. He just stood there, staring blankly at the sink and wondering when did his life go down the drain. The sound of the doorbell pulled him out of his stupor and he snapped back to reality. Charles had a key so who could it possibly be this early in the morning? 

“Angel? What are you doing here?” Erik asked surprised. 

“Charles called just now. He asked me to look after the kids for the day.” She said.

There was a strange look on her face, like she felt awkward or uncomfortable to be in his presence. Did she know something? Did Charles tell her his secret? She definitely didn’t know anything about it the last time Erik talked to her. What changed since? 

“So, I’m gonna take them home with me for a sleepover, okay?” she asked when he just stood there without reacting. 

“Charles asked that?” he asked dumbly. 

She nodded. “Mhm.” 

So Charles wanted them to talk undisturbed. Alone. This was it.  _ The talk _ . Charles was finally ready to have it. Erik swallowed. He wasn’t quite so sure if he was ready for it. 

“Okay.” he croaked. 

Angel walked past him, heading to Pietro and Wanda’s rooms. She sounded much more cheerful when she greeted the twins. 

“Hey, guys! Ready to come with me and have a really fun day?” 

Erik heard his kids’ cheerful exclamations. They prepared for going out in no time, Erik helped Pietro get to Angel’s car and waved them all goodbye. Then everything was quiet. The silence was heavy in the flat matching the heaviness in Erik’s heart. 

Charles was due to come home soon and then no one could tell what might happen. 

—«·»—

The sound of the key turning in the keyhole felt so ominous in the deadly silence of their flat. Erik rose from the sofa as Charles opened the door and faced his husband. He was still wearing his elegant coat, but he looked kind of disheveled, his hair messy, his eyes tired. 

“Hello, Erik.” he said. His voice was shaking and Erik realized that Charles was willing himself to appear relaxed but he really wasn’t. 

They both remained silent as Charles removed his coat and hung it on the hanger. Then he walked slowly into the living room where Erik was still standing. Their eyes did not meet and Erik was suddenly filled with this horrible dread that this was the moment when Charles would ask for a divorce. He didn’t know how to face that. He didn’t know if he was strong enough to hear it or deal with it. 

Probably sensing Erik’s hesitation, Charles silently strode to the couch and sat down, looking up and waiting for Erik to join him. Erik sat down too and waited. The tension could be cut with a knife. 

Just when the silence was getting too unbearable -- Erik could hear his own heartbeat, for goodness’ sake! -- Charles spoke. 

“I saw your car.” Charles said, looking down at his hands, clasped together in front of him.

“Good.” Erik said. 

“You followed me?” 

A nod. “Yes.” 

“You saw me.” 

It wasn't a question. 

Another nod. 

“I suppose you have a lot of questions.” Charles said. 

“A bunch.” Erik replied. 

Charles sucked in a deep breath and spoke. His voice sounded rather detached, like he was giving a report, not having a discussion about his marriage. “Who you saw with me is Gabrielle Haller. She’s an old-- old friend of mine. We all have those.” 

Erik arched an eyebrow. “Old friends? Yes, indeed, I believe we all have old friends, Charles.”

Their eyes met for a moment before Charles bit his lower lip. Hard. “Yes.”he said. “We all have old friends and she’s mine. As in she’s my old friend.”

There was something heavy in Erik’s chest. A lump in his throat. He wanted to get it over with but at the same time he needed more details. He had to hear it and he didn’t want to, at the same time. 

“Gabrielle and I, we,” Charles continued, “we have history together. We used to date before college.” It did not escape Erik’s careful attention that his husband blushed rapidly at his last words. “I won’t lie to you, Erik. She was very important to me. She was a great friend to me at the time and my first-- well, you know what I mean.” Erik did. Charles had mentioned it to him before. No names or cheating were involved back then though. Charles cleared his throat. “But we lost touch when I went to Oxford. I tried to keep her in my life despite the distance but slowly she drifted away. I didn’t know-- I didn’t know how she was doing until recently.” 

“She looked you up?” 

“She did.” Charles nodded. “And I’m glad she did.” he was quick to add. “Even if seeing her again sort of turned everything in my life upside down. I’m glad she found me again.” 

Erik swallowed around the lump in his throat. “Self-knowledge is a good thing. Even when it causes us nothing but pain.” he noted. Before Charles could reply Erik continued, “And now you’ve reconciled? You realized she’s someone special to you?” 

Charles glanced back at his hands again. “She is.” 

Erik’s heart broke all over again. “It’s not your fault.” he blurted out. 

Charles looked at him with big blue earnest eyes that made him want to flinch. “What?” 

“It’s not your fault.” Erik repeated, surprised at his own words. After all the suffering, all the emotional turmoil of the last weeks, he still couldn’t be truly angry with Charles. It was weird. Especially since Erik was famous for his temper. The words came out of his mouth on their own accord. “I understand. I was angry at first, sad,  _ desperate _ . But now I understand.”  

“You understand….?” 

Erik nodded. 

Charles still seemed puzzled. “What do you understand exactly? I still haven’t told you what’s going on.” 

“I understand that in life sometimes things happen that take us by surprise, alter our feelings and we cannot control those and--” Erik was rambling, not sure why he was talking at all. He just couldn’t be silent because that would’ve meant he had to  _ listen _ and  _ hear  _ Charles say he loved another. 

Charles sucked in a sharp breath and put a stop to Erik’s babbling. “Erik, I have a son.”

Silence. 

Charles exhaled, relief filling his chest. “I have a son.” he repeated, a small sheepish smile appearing on his face. 

“Y-you have a son?” That was the last thing Erik expected to hear. He wasn’t sure he even understood the words at first. 

His confusion must’ve shown on his face because Charles continued without waiting for Erik to ask any further questions. 

“Yes. I have a child. He’s a boy. And I love him very much.” 

Erik couldn’t help but notice the small smile on Charles’ face growing yet wider and brighter as he spoke about his son. As if even at a fateful moment like this Charles couldn’t contain his happiness about that kid. 

“You and Gabrielle…” Erik said quietly because it was still the only thing he could ask. His throat was dry. “She’s pregnant?” 

She didn’t look pregnant? But then again Erik didn’t really look. And how did Charles know the baby was a boy this early in the pregnancy? Or was that not a relatively recent thing? How long has Charles kept this secret from him? 

Charles laughed. “Pregnant? Goodness, Erik, no. No, she’s definitely not pregnant. Or if she is, it has nothing to do with me.” he still looked amused. “ _ This time _ .” 

“This ti--” Erik finally realized what Charles was saying.  

“As I said before, we were highschool sweethearts. She was my first-- y’know. Then I went to Oxford and she never told me she was pregnant with my son. My son David…. Who is now 7 years old. And who loves trains and is fascinated with electricity. Because let’s face it, electricity is fascinating. And who loves mashed potatoes but hates chicken for some reason. I don’t see why, I myself always loved chicken…” he rolled his eyes with a chuckle. “I got carried away, forgive me. The point is,” he took Erik’s hands in his. “David is the one I’ve been spending so much time with these past weeks.” His smile had turned slightly sad. Erik wondered why. Charles went on. “I didn’t know about him but I want to get to know him, Erik. I’ve missed out on so much for these last 7 years. I’m trying to catch up with his life. He’s a lovely boy, I promise you. I would  _ never  _ have abandoned him had I known about his existence.”  

He had to stop talking because there were tears in his eyes. Without thinking about it too much Erik wrapped his arms around Charles to comfort him. It was a second nature to him. Even if his mind was still struggling to put the pieces together and make sense in his shock, his instinct told him he had to comfort Charles. 

“I know you wouldn’t, Charles. Of course, you wouldn’t! You’re a wonderful father.” Erik said, pressing a kiss to Charles’ temple. “It’s alright. I’m here.” 

Charles snuggled into Erik’s embrace like a child. “I was ashamed to tell you.” he confessed. “I wanted to tell you so badly, I  _ needed  _ your support. But I was afraid and I didn’t know how to tell you. Or how you’d react.” he sniffled and Erik realized Charles was crying. “You’ve always been such a good dad and I thought you’d think badly of me for not being there for my own son! Especially when he-- he needed me.” Charles pulled away to be able to look Erik in the eyes. He wiped at his eyes, his lips becoming even more cherry-like in color from the tears. “Erik, my son has a mental illness. Dissociative identity disorder. It can get quite severe at times.”  

“Oh, Charles. I’m sorry.” Erik’s heart was heavy. Poor Charles to have to go through all this alone! 

“That’s why Gabby finally decided to tell me about him. It was becoming more difficult for her to take care of him on her own. David needs medical help and at times he gets-- but it’s not his fault. And he’s a lovely child.” 

“I’m sure he is.” Erik pressed a gentle kiss to Charles’ forehead. 

Charles leaned in to the touch as if he was starving for it. 

Erik couldn’t help but feel like an idiot. All this time he was convinced Charles cheated on him, fell for someone else, had some kind of identity crises, when in reality, Charles was dealing with  _ this _ ? Suddenly discovering he had a son! A son who needed him! Erik felt like an asshole. But he also felt Charles’ need for comfort and affection. Something Charles was craving and yet afraid to ask Erik for. 

“I felt so guilty for keeping this from you!” Charles confessed. “I love you so much, Erik! So very much! I didn’t think I deserved you…” 

“Charles, of course you deserve me! If anything, I don’t deserve you…” Erik said, holding Charles in his arms. “I wish you’d told me sooner. We could’ve gone through this together. Whatever you have to face, we will face it together.” 

Charles let out a sigh. He looked so tired. “I didn't want to make things complicated for us.” 

“David’s your son. And you only learned about his existence a few weeks ago. I can only imagine all the emotions you were going through. Becoming a father changes a man.” 

“I already was a father when Gabby told me about David.” Charles said, earnestly. “I’m Pietro and Wanda’s father. And now David’s, too.” 

Erik smiled at him. “And now David’s too.” 

Charles snuggled into Erik’s arms. “He had another episode. That’s why Gabby texted me tonight. That’s why I had to leave in the middle of the night.” 

“You don’t have to explain anything more. I was a fool to think-- The point is, I understand now.” 

“No, I need to explain. I left so abruptly. Caused you to feel like you had to follow me to get an explanation… That was really unfair of me. I let my weakness control my actions and I only made things worse.” Charles insisted “Now I want to tell you everything. I should’ve right from the start.” 

“I agree with that.” Erik said honestly. 

“Tony and I are working on this new technique that can ease David’s episodes, relax him and calm him down. Hopefully help him in the long run too. So whenever he needs me, I have to be quick to get there and use our method.” 

“Is he okay now?” Erik asked, realizing that he really cared about David’s wellbeing now. Even though he didn’t know the kid personally, he was Charles’ son and that was enough. 

Charles hummed. “He’s okay. He was asleep when I left.” He yawned. 

Erik chuckled fondly. “And you need sleep too, I see.” 

Charles shook his head but his sleepiness was adorable. “No, I want us to talk. I need you to forgive me.” he insisted. 

Erik smiled at him. “Charles, there’s nothing to forgive. I only wish you told me sooner, that’s all. It would’ve saved us both a lot of pain.” 

Charles nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry about that. I really should’ve told you that same day. I can’t even imagine what you must’ve thought was going on.” 

Erik suddenly felt very embarrassed. “Perhaps we should leave that conversation for some other time.” he grinned. “Now you need to get some rest.” he hesitated a moment and then added, hopeful, “And later perhaps we could go and meet David together?” 

Charles’ eyes instantly lit up. “You want to meet David?” 

“Of course I do! If you don’t mind, that is.” 

Charles shook his head enthusiastically. “I don’t mind at all! I want you to meet him! I want him to meet you as well! I’ve talked to him about you…” He blushed. 

Erik couldn’t help but smile at that. “You talked to him about me?” 

Charles nodded. “He likes listening about my life. And you’re a huge part of my life.” 

“Poor kid had to endure hearing stories about a grumpy old man.” Erik rolled his eyes, teasing Charles. 

Charles only chuckled embarrassed. “Stop that.” he grinned at Erik. “You know I love that grumpy old man more than anything.” 

“And he loves you back.” Erik assured. 

When no reply came from Charles Erik looked down and realized that his husband was already asleep in his arms. Erik smiled and pulled the blanket over Charles and himself. The two remained like that, snuggled on the couch, finally giving in to a long-needed sleep and relaxation. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the long wait! I'll try to update sooner next time. The story is nearing its end :) I hope you all enjoy it!   
> Oh, and happy Fassy birthday!!!


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